Plants subterranean holoparasitic herbs, often with massive root systems spreading laterally from the host. Roots up to 10 cm wide, 4-5 angled, terete or somewhat flattened. Flowers large, solitary, 3-5-merous, fleshy, bisexual or unisexual; perianth lobes valvate in bud, becomgin erect to reflexed; "bait bodies" present in some species between the inner margins of the lobes, in others, a scent-producing region is present in the hooded portion of the lobes; stamens basifixed, with large, many-celled anthers; ovary inferior, 1-celled, with numberous, infolded placentas; stigmatic regions sessile with distinct grooves on the surface. Fruit fleshy. Seeds numerous, minute.
There are two genera in the family: Prosopanche, which has two species in South and Central America, and Hydnora, with about 4 species in Africa, Madagascar, and Arabia. Only Hydnora is known from Somaliland and Somalia.