Monoecious trees or shrubs. Leaves alternate, distichous or spiral (not in Australia), evergreen or deciduous, simple, entire to crenate, serrate or doubly serrate (not in Australia), often gland-dotted, petiolate; stipules present, caducous or persistent, peltate (not in Australia) or basally attached, with elongate colleters at attachment point. Inflorescences of dichasia or flowers solitary, usually unisexual (rarely with one female and two lateral male flowers in Nothofagus cunninghamii), axillary in leaves of current season’s growth, bracteate; male inflorescences 1–3-flowered; female inflorescences (1–) 3–7 (–15)-flowered (always 3-flowered in Australia), positioned above male inflorescences, subtended by an involucre of bracts persisting and hardening in fruit to become the cupule. Flowers small, inconspicuous, unisexual; perianth of a single connate whorl. Male flowers sessile or shortly stalked; perianth tubular to campanulate, with 2–14 lobes; stamens 4–90; filaments long and flexible; anthers basifixed, dehiscing by longitudinal slits. Female flowers sessile or shortly stalked; perianth 4–6-lobed; ovary inferior; carpels 2 or 3; styles free, 2 or 3; stigmas decurrent; ovules 2 per locule, pendulous; placentation axile. Fruit a nut, lenticular or triangular, usually winged along edges, subtended by a hard cupule; cupule 1–4-valved (always 4-valved in Australia) or valves absent, with glandular or glabrous lamellar appendages. Seed 1, without endosperm.
Several species are important timber trees, in particular Myrtle Beech (Nothofagus cunninghamii) in Australia (Duretto 2009), Red Beech (N. fusca) and Silver Beech (N. menziesii) in New Zealand (Franklin 1974), and Lenga (N. pumilio) in South America (Martínez Pastura et al. 2000).
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