Monoecious or polygamous, evergreen or deciduous trees and shrubs, rarely herbs or climbers. Indumentum stellate, often mixed with simple hairs, rarely with peltate-lepidote scales. Stems sometimes exuding mucilage when wounded, fibrous. Leaves alternate, simple, elliptic to oblanceolate or ± orbicular and then often digitately lobed, venation palmate or pinnate, reticulate; petiole usually swollen and often kneed at base and apex. Stipules linear to lanceolate, usually caducous. Flowers actinomorphic, hypogynous, bisexual, perianth biseriate, calyx 5-lobed or of 5 free sepals (spathaceous in Mansonia) valvate. Corolla imbricate, with 5 free often clawed petals, or (genera 1–6) flowers unisexual, perianth uniseriate, the perianth 5-lobed, valvate. Androgynophore well-developed, inconspicuous or absent; androecium uniseriate, stamens (4–)5–20, all fertile or with some filiform staminodes, the filaments united into a long or short tube, or free or, (genera 1–6) anthers subsessile in a ± globose head on an androgynophore; less usually androecium biseriate, the inner whorl being staminodes, usually petaloid, the outer whorl fertile. Anthers dithecal, dehiscing by slits, rarely by apical pores, extrorse. Gynoecium syncarpous, locules (1–)5, placentation axile, ovules 2–numerous or apocarpous (genera 1–7), carpels 5(–numerous, then spiralled) cohering, separating in fruit; styles as many as carpels, cohering and appearing single, with 3–5 apical branches. Fruit syncarpous, then loculicidally, rarely septicidally (Byttneria) dehiscent, rarely indehiscent and then berry-like (Theobroma), if apocarpous, the fruitlets ventrally dehiscent along the placenta, then woody or leathery; or indehiscent and fleshy, leathery or papery. Seeds 1-numerous, rarely winged or arillate, endosperm present or absent, cotyledons flat or folded, thin or fleshy.