Evergreen trees or shrubs. Leaves papery to thickly leathery, pinninerved, ± pubescent. Cymose panicle axillary or subterminal, composed of pedunculate cymes or rarely subumbels, bracteate and bracteolate. Flowers bisexual, pedicellate. Perianth tube short; perianth lobes 6, subequal or outer 3 smaller, hairy, dilated after anthesis, caducous or persistent. Fertile stamens 9, in 3 whorls; filaments filiform, complanate, pilose, those of 3rd whorl each with 2 glands at base, others glandless; anthers 4-celled, cells introrse in 1st and 2nd whorls, all extrorse or upper 2 cells lateral and lower 2 cells extrorse in 3rd whorl. Staminodes 3, of innermost whorl, sagittate-cordate, stalked; stalk pilose. Ovary ovoid; style slender, hairy; stigma discoid. Drupe fleshy, small and globose, or large and ovoid or pear-shaped; fruit stalk ± dilated and fleshy, or terete.

About 50 species: mainly distributed in North and South America, only a few species distributed in SE Asia; one species (introduced) in China.

(Authors: Li Xiwen (李锡文 Li Hsi-wen), Li Jie (李捷); Henk van der Werff)