Lianas, woody, hermaphroditic or polygamo-monoecious. Tendrils 2- or 3-branched. Leaves simple, 1- or 2-pinnately or palmately compound. Inflorescence a corymbose cyme, leaf-opposed or pseudoterminal, often at tips of tendrils. Flowers 5-merous. Calyx saucer-shaped. Petals 5, free. Disk well developed, margin undulately lobed. Stamens 5. Style conspicuous; stigma inconspicuously expanded. Berry spherical, 1-4-seeded. Seed obovoid, base rostrate, apex rounded; cross-section of endosperm M-shaped.

About 30 species: Asia, Central and North America, with most species in E Asia and two species in SW Asia; 17 species (13 endemic) in China.

(Authors: Chen Zhiduan (陈之端); Jun Wen (文军))