Shrubs or trees, evergreen, dioecious; stems and foliage without conspicuous latex. Bark greyish black, tessellated. Indumentum of simple hairs, not glandular, stinging hairs absent. Stipules entire, inconspicuous, caducous. Leaves spirally arranged, simple, petiolate, elobate, margin entire, glands absent, penninerved. Inflorescences axillary, bracteate fascicles or very short racemes with groups of flowers. Flowers actinomorphic; petals and disc absent. Staminate flowers pedicellate; sepals 4, free, imbricate, cucullate, ± equal; stamens 18-86, filaments connate and attached to a slightly raised receptacle; anthers dorsifixed, bilobate, thecae oblong, longitudinally dehiscent; pistillode absent. Pistillate flowers sessile to pedicellate; sepals 6-8, imbricate, free; ovary 3-or 4-locular, ovules 2 per locule, style short, stigmas simple, flabellate (petal-like). Fruits capsular, quadri-or trilobate, tardily dehiscing septicidally into bivalved cocci; sarcocarp fleshy, orange to red. Seeds ellipsoid to flattened ellipsoid to ovoid; testa crustaceous; albumen fleshy; caruncles entire, non-arilloid; cotyledons broad, flat.
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