Large lianas, almost entirely glabrous. Leaves palmately nerved at the base, hairy domatia present in the axils of the nerves and main veins. Inflorescences usually cauliflorous (male sometimes axillary), paniculate. Male flowers pedicellate: usually 2 minute outer sepals with 3 + 3 concave, imbricate larger inner sepals, becoming reflexed; petals 0; synandrium consisting of a shortly stalked globular cluster of c. 30-35 transversely dehiscing anthers. Female flowers: sepals as in male; petals 0; staminodes 6, minute; carpels 3(-4) arising laterally from a central conical gynophore which greatly lengthens in fruit, stigma recurved. Drupes subreniform-globose, style-scar sublateral, borne on short terminal divergent branches of a thickened columnar carpophore continuous with peduncle (i.e. flower-pedicel); pericarp very thin; endocarp woody with reticulate surface, bearing 2 small sublateral perforations on the ventral (concave) side, with a deeply intrusive bilobed condyle around which the subhemispherical seed lies, each lobe of the condyle being hollow and leading to one of the external perforations; endosperm copious; embryo with divaricate, thin, foliaceous cotyledons much larger than the radicle.
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