Shrubs (often scrambling or rarely somewhat climbing) or rarely small trees, armed. Leaves odd-pinnate or digitately trifoliolate; leaflet blades crenulate to lobulate or rarely entire at margin. Flowers in terminal and/or axillary cymes, racemes, or rarely thyrses, 4- or 5(or 6)-merous. Stamens 2 × as many as petals; filaments inserted at base of disk, with hairy ligulate appendage at base. Disk pulvinate to cup-shaped. Gynoecium 4- or 5(or 6)-carpelled and -loculed; ovaries ± completely connate; ovules 1 per locule; stylar elements sometimes distinct at base, otherwise coherent; stigma capitate and often slightly lobed. Fruit subglobose, completely syncarpous or slightly lobed, drying black when ripe. Seeds pyriform; seed coat thin and brittle; endosperm ± scant; embryo bent double; cotyledons ± flattened, elliptic-oblong.

In the study of fresh material of Harrisonia brownii and relevant herbarium specimens at hand (which comprise 30 collections of H. brownii, nine of H. perforata, and four of H. abyssinica), we have found no evidence (with the possible exception of occasional specimens of H. perforata; see description below) that the plants produce oil glands.

Three species: tropical Africa (Harrisonia abyssinica Oliver), S and SE Asia (H. perforata and H. brownii A. Jussieu), N Australia (H. brownii); one species in China.