Shrubs or usually trees, dioecious. Twigs sometimes angular or with two raised lines, lenticellate, not flaky. Leaves sometimes dispersed, brittle when dry, lower surface not pale, papillose only in H. iryaghedhi, dots present or absent; reticulation lax (never forming a close raised network as in Knema). Inflorescences (on older wood in H. sabulosa) paniculate, usually branched several times; flowers numerous, all in about the same stage of development, solitary, or clustered (in H. iryaghedhi the male with flowers sessile in dense flower heads); basal cataphylls caducous; bracts small or large, caducous. Flowers small, mostly short-pedicelled, at base articulated or not, bracteole absent. Male flowers: perianth ± globose or cup-shaped, leathery, inside glabrous, yellowish (never red); buds (depressed-)globose, (transversely) ellipsoid, reniform, or clavate, laterally compressed or not, cleft to variable depths, lobes 2 or 3 (or 4), not spread at anthesis; androecium sessile or with short narrow androphore, glabrous, synandrium variously shaped (cup-shaped, globose, ellipsoid, cylindrical, or trigonous), laterally compressed or not; anthers 2-c. 25, largely or entirely connate into a central column hollowed to different depths at apex; anthers straight, curved, or inflexed into the apical cavity to variable depths. Female flowers: slightly larger than male, globose to ovoid-ellipsoid; ovary glabrous or pubescent, style absent, stigma small, deeply 2-lobed (more-lobed in H. iryaghedhi). Infructescences branched, few-to many-fruited. Fruits globose or ellipsoid, 1-8 cm long, pericarp leathery or somewhat fleshy, with or without lenticel-like tubercles, glabrous or pubescent, perianth sometimes persistent; aril entire or only shal-lowly lobed; seeds rarely globose, not variegated; albumen ruminate, with fatty oil but no starch; cotyledons connate at base.
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Evergreen trees. Leaves dispersed or distichous, papery or thinly leathery, often glabrous, abaxially not glaucous; tertiary veins reticulate, often obscure. Plants monoecious or dioecious. Male inflorescence often compound paniculate; flowers often aggregated into clusters; bracts caducous; bracteole absent. Flowers pedicellate, sometimes shortly so, small. Perianth lobes (2 or)3-5; anthers 4-30, connate abaxially into globose or clavate sessile or stipitate synandrium sometimes concave at apex. Ovary ovoid, glabrous or hairy; style absent. Pericarp often rather thick, glabrous or glabrescent. Aril entire, rarely lacerate at apex; testa thinly woody; cotyledons connate at base.
Dioecious trees. Leaves mostly distichous. Inflorescence axillary, paniculate with flowers in loose clusters. Bracteoles absent. Flowers pedicellate; calyx 2–4-cleft. Male flowers: stamens 2–c. 25; filaments connate into short columnar androphore with central apical depression; anthers free or connate into synandrium and adaxially adnate to column. Female flowers: ovary globose or ovoid, glabrous or pubescent; stigma sessile, 2-lobed. Fruit globose or ellipsoidal, with or without persistent calyx beneath; pericarp fleshy. Seed ellipsoidal, completely covered by aril. Endosperm ruminate, containing oil but no starch.
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