Plants annual herbs. Leaves opposite or alternate, entire leaves. Inflorescences axillary, of solitary, bracteate flowers, or dense, usually solitary, sometimes clustered spikes. Tepals 3-4(-5), hyaline, each with a green vitta, all similar; stamens 1 or 2; filaments filiform, with no pseudostaminodes; ovaries with 1 ovule; styles short; stigmas capitate. Fruits thin-walled, irregularly rupturing capsules.
Nothosaerva includes only 1 species, Nothosaerva brachiata. It grows in both Somaliland and Somalia as well as elsewhere in tropical Africa and Asia.
Note: GBIF records include introduced and cultivated plants. Consequently, the distribution shown often differs from statements about a taxon's native distribution.