Trees, evergreen, unarmed. Trichomes simple. Buds with 2 pairs of opposite, imbricate scales enclosing leaf or floral primordia. Leaves opposite, imparipinnate, trifoliolate, or simple, (occasional leaves bifoliolate), without domatia. Inflorescences paniculate, terminal or terminal and axillary. Flowers bisexual, 5-merous (rarely occasional flowers 4-merous). Sepals connate at base or to nearly their full length, persistent or deciduous in fruit. Petals distinct, valvate, white, deciduous in fruit. Stamens twice as many as petals, alternately unequal in length. Gynoecium subapocarpous, 5-carpelled (rarely occasional flowers 4-carpelled); carpels in ovary without prominent glands; ovules 4–6 per locule; style lateral; stigma punctiform. Fruit of 1 or 2 (rarely 3) basally connate follicles; exocarp woody; abortive carpels persistent; ventral endocarp membranaceous to subfleshy, tearing free from rest of endocarp and ±persistent on seed as an ovate to elliptic, often acuminate piece of tissue; dorsilateral endocarp cartilaginous, glabrous, separate and usually expelled from dehisced fruit. Seeds solitary, usually expelled from dehisced fruit; testa brown, smooth, polished, membranaceous, without sclerotesta; endosperm lacking. Embryo straight or nearly so; cotyledons plano-convex, suborbicular or broadly elliptic in outline; hypocotyl terminal or subterminal, considerably narrower than cotyledons.
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