Shrubs, small trees or subscandent woody plants. Leaves opposite or ternate, shortly petiolate, the petioles compressed, channelled; blades acuminate or caudate, usually with acarodomatia; midnerve channelled; stipules interpetiolar, triangular or ovate, entire, acute. Flowers hermaphrodite, mostly heterostylous, usually 5-merous, in axillary or terminal, sessile or pedunculate, trichotomously corymbose or subumbellate inflorescences, sometimes reduced to a few or even single flowers; peduncle with 1–2 4-parted involucels situated at the apex or middle; other bracts small or absent. Calyx-tube short, denticulate, dentate or lobed. Corolla salver-shaped, white, greenish, violet or lavender; tube short, funnel-shaped or cylindrical, the upper half densely hairy inside; lobes glabrous inside. Stamens with glabrous filaments and dorsifixed anthers, exserted in short-styled flowers. Disc cushion-shaped, papillate or shortly hairy. Ovary 2–3-locular at the base, 4–6-locular at the apex, with 2–3, sometimes lobed, placentas affixed at the middle of the true septum, the false septa incised and broadly cordate; ovules numerous; style glabrous, puberulous or hairy, included or exserted; stigmas 2, globose, mitriform or subcapitate, the apex shortly 2-lobed, the lobes cohering or rarely free and linear or lanceolate. Fruit a globose yellow or red berry, 2-locular at the base, 4-locular at the top. Seeds numerous, yellow or yellow-brown, rarely red, ovoid, testa alveolate and sometimes irregularly ribbed; endosperm oily.