Trees, shrubs or lianes, less often small shrublets, often aromatic; bark frequently with a very characteristic impressed pattern of small lozenges on the young shoots; indumentum, if present, simple, stellate or scaly. Leaves alternate, distichous, thin to coriaceous, entire, penninerved; stipules absent. Flowers borne on young leafy shoots or on the old wood, rarely on underground suckers, terminal or axillary, hermaphrodite or less often unisexual, solitary, paired, cymose or in fascicles, sessile or stalked, regular, very often fleshy or brittle; bracts and bracteoles often present, sometimes closely enveloping the buds. Sepals 2–3, valvate or rarely imbricate, sometimes not enclosing the petals in bud, free or somewhat united, rarely accrescent. Petals 3–6(–12), usually either in 2 whorls of 2–4 or in a single whorl of 3, 4 or 6, valvate, imbricate or rarely open in bud, free or more or less united at the base, usually alternating with the sepals; rarely petals entirely absent. Stamens 6–12 and whorled or numerous and spirally (often tightly) arranged on a convex receptacle to form an incomplete hemisphere; rarely outer stamens subpetaloid; anthers linear to rounded with lateral, extrorse or rarely introrse dehiscence, occasionally transversely locellate; connective usually produced, mostly dilated, truncate, oblique, convex, conical, acute or capitate; filaments usually short and free or less often longer and united into a cone covering the carpels. Carpels 1–numerous, free, united at the base or completely united to form a 1-locular ovary; ovules 1–numerous; styles free or united, sometimes flattened but so folded as to appear subcylindrical; stigmas free or rarely united, capitate, oblong or slightly raised or variously folded forming a margin to the style-tissue or radiating, sometimes bifurcating, rarely apparently absent. Fruit either consisting of 1–several separate fleshy or somewhat woody indehiscent or rarely dehiscent, sessile or stipitate monocarps, or syncarpous with numerous 1-seeded fruiting carpels or 1-locular and many-seeded. Seeds with longest axis in line with longest axis of the monocarp (vertical) or at an angle to it (oblique to horizontal) or irregular, sometimes arillate, with abundant ruminate endosperm; embryo minute.