Evergreen or deciduous trees, shrubs, sarmentous shrubs or perennial herbs. Leaves mostly alternate, simple, imparipinnate, interruptedly imparipinnate, trifoliolate, ternate or palmately to pinnately compound, stipules deciduous or persistent (absent in Spiraea and Aruncus). Glands often present on leaves in the genus Prunus. Stems sometimes spiny or bearing prickles. Flowers bisexual, rarely unisexual (plants dioecious in Sorbaria), actinomorphic, (4-)5-merous, solitary, in racemes or compound racemes. Hypanthium usually very conspicuous, campanulate with more or less obvious nectary disc on its rim. Disc lobed in some genera. Sepals (4-)5, imbricate, mostly borne on hypanthium, epicalyx often present outside calyx, petals (4-)5, imbricate, free, rarely 0. Stamens 4 to numerous, anthers 2 or 1-locular, dehiscing longitudinally, intrastaminal. Ovary superior to inferior, carpels 1 to many, free to variously connate, with mostly two ovules per carpel or locule, stylodia 1 per carpel, stigmas capitate (penicillate in Sanguisorba). Fruits diverse, drupe, drupetum, nuculanium, pome, pometum, follicetum, achenetum or glandetum. Seeds 1 to several in each carpel or locule, usually without endosperm.