Oenoplea Michaux ex R. Hedwig.

Shrubs climbing or erect, evergreen to deciduous, rarely small trees, unarmed. Leaves alternate; stipules connate at base, persistent, rarely caducous; leaf blade mostly papery, margin entire, venation pinnate, with 4-18 pairs of strongly parallel secondary and mostly strongly parallel tertiary veins. Flowers bisexual, pedicellate, 5-merous, glabrous, in thyrses composed of mainly few flowered, terminal or axillary, pedunculate to sessile, corymblike cymes. Calyx tube disk- to cup-shaped or hemispherical. Sepals triangular, rarely linear or narrowly lanceolate, adaxially ± distinctly keeled. Petals spatulate to lanceolate, shorter than or ca. as long as sepals, shortly clawed. Stamens dorsifixed, equaling petals or slightly shorter. Disk mainly fleshy, filling calyx tube, with 10 irregular lobes, free at margin. Ovary superior, ± deeply immersed in disk, 2-loculed, with 1 ovule per locule; styles cylindric, short, undivided; stigma large, entire, emarginate, or 2-fid. Drupe single-stoned, purple-red or purple-black, often turning black at maturity, mostly cylindric, rarely obovate, base with persistent calyx tube and disk remnants, apex often with rudimentary style; mesocarp fleshy, thin, sometimes sweet-tasting; endocarp stiffly cartilaginous, 2-loculed, locules 1-seeded.

Berchemia alnifolia H. Léveillé (Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 10: 433. 1912) is the basionym of Corylopsis alnifolia (H. Léveillé) C. K. Schneider in the Hamamelidaceae (see Fl. China 9: 37. 2003).

Berchemia sessiliflora Bentham (Fl. Hongk. 68. 1861), described from Hong Kong, could not be treated here because no material was seen by the authors.

The roots, stems, and leaves in some species are used medicinally. The young leaves are used as a substitute for tea.

About 32 species: mainly in temperate and tropical areas of E to SE Asia; 19 species (12 endemic) in China.