Deciduous, monoecious or dioecious, unarmed laticiferous trees and shrubs. Leaves simple, alternate, dentate, 3-5costate from the base, undivided or 3.5-lobed; stipules lateral, membranous, caducous. Male inflorescence axillary, long-peduncled, cylindrical catkin. Male flowers: sepals 4, busily united, lobes imbricate; stamens 4, inflexed in bud, soon exserted; pistillode present, turbinate. Female inflorescence long or short peduncled, axillary catkins. Female flowers: sepals 4, united at the base, imbricate, persistent and fleshy in fruit; ovary ovoid or subglobose, ovule pendulous, style 2-partite; staminodes absent. Fruit a juicy cylindrical-ovoid sorosis of druplets enclosed by the enlarged succulent calyces. Seeds subglobose, endospermous.