Plants dioecious, shrubby, glabrous; branches 2 or more per node. Leaves opposite, coriaceous, sometimes scale-like. Flowers small, unisexual, axillary or at the nodes. Perianth-tube short, 3-4 lobed; lobes deciduous or persistent. Stamens sessile, epiphyllous; anthers dehiscing by pores. Ovary inferior, adnate to the perianth-tube; placentation basal; stigma sessile or sub-sessile. Fruit a semi-transparent berry.