Erect herbs to c. 1.2 m high, glaucous. Leaves with ± clasping base, often with prickles on veins beneath; midrib and veins irregularly outlined in greyish white on the upper leaf surface. Flowers 2.5–4.5 cm in diam., subtended by 1 or 2 leafy bracts. Sepals 3, prickly. Petals 6, yellow or cream, glabrous. Stigma and style persistent, 1–3 mm long in fruit. Capsule ± oblong, 1.2–4.5 cm long, dehiscing by 4–6 valves in apical part, leaving behind a cage-like frame of vascular strands. Seeds subglobose with a small beak at one end, up to 2 mm in diam.
Range
Specimens seen only from N3, but no doubt occurring also in other regions. Pantropical weed of Central American origin with seeds rich in oil.
