Thesium sect. Hagnothesium A.DC.

Zhigila, D. A., Verboom, G. A., Stirton, C. H. & Muasya, A. M., 2019, A taxonomic revision of Thesium section Hagnothesium (Santalaceae) and description of a new species, T. quartzicolum *, South African Journal of Botany 124, pp. 280-303 : 289

5.2. Thesium sect. Hagnothesium A.DC. in Esp. Nouv. Thesium : 4 (1857)

Type: Thesium fragile L.f. Lectotype designated by F.Forest & Manning 43(2): 215 (2013).

5.2.1. Diagnosis

Plant dioecious, male and female plants similar e.g. in T. fragile and allies or dissimilar e.g. in T.hirtum and allies, plants brittle e.g. in T. fragile or not brittle e.g. in T. hirtum and allies, leaves linear or lanceolate to acicular e.g. in T. hirtum and allies or scale-like e.g. in T. fragile and allies, bracts and bracteoles leaf-like, bract shape triangular, linear or lanceolate, seldom acicular, longer relative to flower e.g. in T. hirtum and allies or shorter e.g. in T. fragile and allies; inflorescences in branchlet or leaf axils, solitary spikes, or borne in 2–3-flowered dichasia, rarely solitary, flowers generally 4-merous, perianth lobe inner and outside colour green; fruit surfaces 10-ribbed, 5-ribbed or without ribs, reticulate veins conspicuous or faint except in T. microcarpum and T. quartzicolum in which veins are absent, ovoid to globose or truncated, fruit colour green or white, persistent perianth segments green when young, white or yellow to orange in mature plants, shorter or equal to fruit length.