Kon-vol-vu-la'se-e. L. Convohul-us + acese, fr. convolvere, to roll together, entwine - i. e., referring to stem's twining habit. Herbs, shrubs. Distinguished by twining or trailing habit, roots, containing acrid, milky, purgative juice; leaves exstipulate, sometimes parasitic and leafless; calyx 5, imbricate, inferior; corolla regular, 5-plaited or -lobed; ovary 2-4-celled; ovules 2 in each cell; fruit capsule, 2-4-celled. Allied to Solanaceaae and Scrophulariaceae, but differing in habit, alternate leaves, and large solitary seeds, with crumpled embryo; tropics, temperate climates; purgative (glucosides in juices); some roots edible (starch, sugar).

Genera: 1. Exogonium. 2. Convolvulus.