Shrubs to small (or big in G. maingayi) trees, dioecious, bole sometimes fluted or with buttresses; buds in shoot axils. Indumentum of simple short and/or long hairs, often of different colours. Stipules triangular, often thick, hairy outside, glabrous inside (except G. aristifera), entire or with side-lobes in G. aristifera, caducous to late caducous. Leaves simple, alternate, distichous; petiole short, cylindrical, flat or channelled above, subglabrous to hairy, slightly pulvinate; blades asymmetric, one side broader, pergamentaceous to coriaceous, drying green to brown, often somewhat bullate; base asymmetric, margin entire (to sometimes slightly crenate in G. celebica), flat to recurved, without glands, apex bluntly acuminate to caudate, upper surface smooth, glabrous to hairy on midrib, lower surface smooth, generally more hairy, venation pinnate, slightly raised or sunken above, raised beneath, nerves looped and closed towards margin, veins and veinlets coarsely reticulate. Inflorescences terminal (to cauliflorous in G. celebica), single, rarely several together when subterminal to many when cauliflorous; pendulous, spike-like thyrses, seldom paniculate (generally after damage), subglabrous to hairy, up to 1 m long, staminate flowers in groups, pistillate flowers single (or sometimes in threes in G. fulva); bracts triangular, completely hairy or inside glabrous; bracteoles similar to bracts but smaller. Flowers (4-or) 5-merous; calyx 5-lobed, cupular, lobes basally connate, valvate, triangular, horizontally spreading, hairy outside, glabrous inside except for (partly) midrib in G. fulva, midrib inside thickened; petals (4 or) 5, free, valvate, fleshy; two types: type 1 convex or cucullate with thickened midrib inside, glabrous or apex hairy, latter often hook-like, type 2 more or less straight, tomentellous on both sides, apex acute; disc absent. Staminate flowers pedicellate; pedicel hairy, cylindrical, basally with an abscission zone; petals late caducous; stamens (8 or) 10 (or 15) in a single or in two whorls, often of different lengths, short ones epipetalous, long ones episepalous, filaments thick, free or connate to each other and adnate to pistillode, glabrous or hairy, straight or S-shaped, anthers 2-thecate, thecae parallel to separated and almost horizontal, latrorse with lengthwise split; pistillode columnar to obovoid, glabrous to hairy, sealing the bud together with petals in subgenus Galearia (in subgenus Orthopetalum only the petals close the bud). Pistillate flowers generally on a short, cylindrical, hairy pedicel, elongating in fruit, usually with an abscission zone beneath the flower; calyx persistent; petals early caducous, straight, slightly cucullate or cucullate, glabrous to hairy; ovary ovoid, 2-6-locular, hirsute; ovules single per locule, pendulous, anatropous; style absent, stigmas completely split once and in several species several times partly, in G. maingayi stigmas inside crater-like apex of fruit. Fruits laterally flattened to ovoid to subglobular drupes, often ridged or angular, 4-or 5-cornered, hairy, glabrescent, wall fleshy or bony, either thin and entire or thick with cavities, woody when dry; columella absent. Seeds flattened, triangular, ecarunculate.
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