Poacynum Baillon; Trachomitum Woodson.

Herbs perennial, sometimes shrubs, latex white. Rhizomes fibrous. Leaves opposite, rarely alternate, margin denticulate. Inflorescences thyrselike, terminal. Corolla campanulate or basin-shaped; throat wide, open; lobes overlapping to right. Stamens inserted at base of corolla tube, alternate with corona lobes; anthers adherent to pistil head; disc scales fleshy. Ovary half-inferior; carpels 2, free; ovules numerous in each locule. Follicles 2, slender, divaricate. Seeds numerous, apically comose; embryo straight, cotyledons as long as radicle.

Nine species: temperate regions of North America, Europe, and Asia; two species in China.