Trees, shrubs or herbs, occasionally woody climbers, mostly stellate hairy. Leaves alternate, petiolate, simple or palmate compound, stipulate. Inflorescence axillary or rarely terminal, cymose, racemnose or paniculate, rarely flowers solitary. Flowers bisexual or unisexual or both, usually actinomorphic rarely zygomorphic, hypogynous. Sepals (3-)5(-7), free or united, valvate, mostly persistent. Petals 5 or absent, free, adnate to the staminal tube at the base, twisted, imbricate or valuate Stamens 5-many, in 2 whorls, outer antisepalous whorl absent or reduced to staminodes, free or monadelphous at the base, anthers dithecous. Carpels (1-)5(-12), syncarpous or sometimes partly to completely apocarpous, ovary superior, sessile or stipitate, locule equalling the number of carpels, each 2-multiovulate, ovules anatropous, placentation axile; style and stigma simple or as many as carpels and free. Fruit dry, dehiscent capsule, schizocarp or etaerio of follicles or rarey flleshy, indehiscent and berry-like. Seeds usually endospermic.