Small trees, shrubs or woody climbers, glabrescent to densely silky; indumentum of simple hairs. Leaves in some species with 2 marginal glands at the base of the limb. Flowers hermaphrodite or, in one small group, unisexual (not in East Africa), mostly small, solitary, fascicled or in dense to very lax few-flowered cymes, mostly supra-axillary or extra-axillary, rarely axillary, mostly pedicellate; bracteole present, often persistent, quite conspicuously leafy and usually situated on the lower half of the pedicel, but frequently minute. Sepals (2–)3, valvate, free or ± united at the base, much shorter than the petals. Petals (4–)6, variously arranged, variously all in 1 whorl, in 2 distinct whorls or inserted in 1 whorl at the base but overlapping and appearing to be in 2 whorls above, valvate, free, or slightly united at the base, mostly rather thick, the outer often at length ± spreading, the inner smaller or sometimes very small, often somewhat clawed, connivent and erect. Androecium often fiat and hexagonal; stamens 6 to fairly numerous, in 1–several whorls, or sometimes 6 alternating with 6 reduced stamens or staminodes; stamens linear or more usually obovate-obconic, clavate or cuneiform; filaments usually present, sometimes longer than the anther-cells; anther-cells parallel, extrorse or introrse, attached to the thickened connectives, which are sometimes appendaged laterally, but never have thickened apical appendages which form a continuous pavement completelyhiding the anther-cells from above. Carpels few to rather numerous, free, cylindric, ellipsoid or obconie, with 1–8 uniseriate ovules; style cylindric, obconic or ellipsoid, as long as or shorter than the ovary, stigma bifurcate or grooved. Monocarps indehiscent, often fleshy, cylindrical (to rarely sub-globose), mostly stipitate, 1–8-seeded, mostly conspicuously constricted between the seeds, the articles easily breaking off. Seeds oblong-ellipsoid, ovoid or subglobose, vertical; testal intrusions into the endosperm lamelli-form.
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