Trees or shrubs, dioecious, polygamo-dioecious or bisexual, without vessels, branching sympodially or monopodially, glabrous, rarely with hair-like papillae. Leaves exstipulate, alternate, in pseudo-whorls or subopposite (not in Australia); lamina simple, entire, finely pellucid-dotted. Flowers solitary and terminal, or in terminal or axillary cymose inflorescences, usually regular, hypogynous. Calyx calyptrate or 2–4 (–6)-lobed, valvate. Petals 2–many or absent, in 1 or 2 or more whorls, free (or outer ones connate). Stamens 3–numerous, free, inflated, obovoid or ribbon-like, anthers adnate or anthers distinct from the filament, tetrasporangiate, commonly with terminal or subterminal bisporangiate pollen sacs; pollen usually in tetrads. Carpels 1–several, in a single whorl, free or slightly connate, conduplicate and often unsealed with stigma decurrent along opposed margins to fully sealed with a terminal style and stigma; placentas 2, linear, opposite, parallel to the stigma or ventral, usually with 1 row of ovules; ovules 1–many, anatropous, descending or apotropous. Fruit apocarps, berry-like, or follicles, or connate into multilocular capsules or syncarps (not in Australia). Seeds with abundant endosperm.
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