Genus 40 species.
Botany: much branched woody plants, shrubs or shrubby tufts; leaves simple, alternate, with very short stalks, almost sessile; ochreas membranous, usually two-veined, more-or-less joined at the base; inflorescence of several bundles, fascicles of 1 to 3 flowers; flowers have persistent tepals, arranged in a narrow tube with unequal lobes or bell-shaped with equal segments; fruits wingless achenes.
TaxonomyMolecular phylogenetic studies have shown that Atraphaxis forms a distinct clade, closely related to Duma and Polygonum.