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Trees or shrubs. Leaves simple, entire or palmately lobed, rarely palmately compound, margin entire or dentate. Inflorescence usually axillary, usually paniculate, rarely racemose. Flowers unisexual. Calyx 5-lobed or 5-partite. Petals absent. Male flowers: anthers clustered at top of androgynophore, enclosing undeveloped carpels. Female flowers: androgynophore very short, staminodes at top of androgynophore in whorl around base of carpels. Carpels 5; ovules 2 to many per carpel; styles connate at base; stigmas as many as carpels, free. Fruit a group of follicles, usually leathery, less often woody, dehiscent when mature. Seeds 1 to many per follicle, usually with endosperm.
Female flower: ovary of 4–5 coherent carpels with 2-? ovules per carpel; often borne on a short gynophore with vestigial anthers at its base; styles coherent; stigma peltate or 4–5-lobed.
Inflorescences paniculate or rarely racemose, terminal or axillary, appearing before or with the leaves.
Male flower: anthers c. 10–20 in a capitate or capitate-globose cluster on a slender androphore.
Carpels separating at maturity and becoming follicular, usually rather woody or leathery.
Trees with entire, lobed or occasionally digitate leaves.
Flowers bisexual or unisexual, monoecious or dioecious.
Calyx 4–5 (6)-lobed.
Seeds 1-?.
Petals 0.
