Mostly herbs, few tendrillar climbers or twiners, rarely shrubs, trees. Stems and branches often swollen at nodes. Leaves usually alternate, simple, petiolate or subsessile, sometimes leaves modified into phylloclades; stipules usually united forming a sheath around stem (the ochrea), ochrea membranous, scarious, hyaline, at mouth entire, fimbriate, lacerate or ciliate. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, basically a cyme, often arranged in spikes, heads or panicles. Flowers small, actinomorphic, usually bisexual, rarely unisexual, hypogynous, usually trimerous in two whorls, rarely bimerous or 5-merous, monochlamydeous. Perianth of 5 or 6, rarely fewer segments, uni- or biseriate of 3 each, connate below, inner sometimes enlarged or modified with hooks, spines, wings or tubercles; tepals often persistent, usually enlarged and membranous in fruit. Stamens 5-9, rarely fewer or more, uni- or biseriate with nectar secreting glands at base, filaments free or united at base; anthers bithecous. Disc annular, often lobed. Carpels 2-3, syncarpous, ovary superior, flattened or 3-angled, unilocular with one basal ovule; style 2-3, rarely 4, with stigmas capitate or fringed. Fruit a biconvex or trigonous nut, shining brown or black, often enclosed by persistent perianth.

55 genera and about 1260 species

Antigonon leptopus

Persicaria barbata

Persicaria glabra

Polygonum effusum

Rumex dentatus subsp. klotz.

Rumex punjabensis

Rumex spinosus