Burmanniaceae

Burmanniaceae is a family of chiefly tropical herbs. These plants are characterized by basal leaves or leaves arranged like bracts along the flower stalk, and they possess small flowers. The genus Burmannia, which gives the family its name, includes slender herbs native to warm regions with scale-like leaves and flowers that have a three-angled or three-winged perianth.12

Members of Burmanniaceae are often achlorophyllous, meaning they lack chlorophyll and are saprophytic, deriving nutrients from decaying organic matter. This characteristic makes them inconspicuous and easily overlooked in the understory of wet tropical forests where they are found. The family has traditionally been associated with orchids due to similarities in their fruits, which contain numerous microscopic seeds.3