Shrubs or large-sized trees, very rarely buttressed. Bark smooth to finely fissured, grey-brown, often lenticellate. Innovations densely or sparsely set with golden yellow or yellowish-brown indumentum consisting of simple bulbous-based, finely tuberculate, appressed or erect hairs and multicellular capitate-glandular hairs. Stipules extrapetiolar, free but overlapping each other and completely enclosing the bud, on falling leaving a circular scar around the node. Leaves pinnately nerved, nerves parallel, regularly well-spaced. Inflorescence ♂ or ♀, very rarely ♂♀, axillary or borne on older, leafless branchlets, 1-many-flowered, paniculate, racemose, thyrsoid, or capitate; bracts ovate-acute, minute, caducous, but rather long persistent in the ♀ inflorescence. ♂ Flower globular, sessile or short-stalked along the axes; perianth lobes 5, imbricate in bud; stamens glabrous, anthers introrse; filament subulate, inflexed; anthers ovoid-reniform, apiculate, sub-basifixed; pistillode present, rather well-developed or very rudimentary, densely set with whitish or silky erect hairs. ♀ Flower ovoid-ellipsoid, compressed; perianth lobes 4-5, usually unequal in size, long persistent; staminodes absent; ovary ovoid-ellipsoid, strongly compressed, sessile, densely or sparsely appressed-hairy, glabrescent; stigmatic arms up to 1½ cm long, curled in bud, later spreading, rather long persistent; ovule anatropous. Drupe ovoid-globose, convex elliptic lens-shaped; exocarp thin, strongly adnate to the hard and persistent endocarp. Seed coat membranous, a few cells thick; endosperm absent; embryo curved, hypo-cotyle ascending; cotyledons fleshy, narrow, equal. Mode of germination unknown.
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Trees or shrubs, evergreen, dioecious or rarely monoecious. Branchlets never spinose, never corky or winged. Stipules firm, caducous, usually basally connate, enclosing bud, leaving a single transverse scar that completely encircles stem at each node. Leaves alternate, in several ranks; leaf blade margin entire or shallowly serrate; venation pinnate; secondary veins anastomosing before reaching margin. Inflorescences cymes or 1-flowered. Flowers unisexual. Male flowers: tepals 5, imbricate. Stamens 5; filaments short and erect. Ovary rudimentary, hair-shaped. Female flowers: tepals 5. Ovary sessile. Stigmas papillate. Drupes compressed or not; endocarp bony. Seed with endosperm or not; embryo twisted; cotyledons narrow.
Understorey shrubs or trees in both primary and secondary forests, at 0-1300 m, often abundant and gregarious; on various types of soil, including those derived from limestone. In areas where the seasonal climate is prominent mainly found in the evergreen forest along streams.Judging from the structure of the flower and inflorescence, it is inferred that the pollination may be affected by wind. The drupes which turn to bright yellow or orange in colour when ripe are mostly barren, and they may be dispersed by various species of frugivorous birds. Direct observations in the field are, however, wanting.
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