Evergreen, glabrous trees or shrubs with or without conical respiratory roots (pneumatophores) or stilt roots. Branchlets swollen at the nodes. Leaves simple, opposite, rarely alternate, entire, leathery, mostly mucronate; stipules interpetiolar, conspicuous, caducous, leaving annular scar, rarely absent. Inflorescence axillary, mostly lax or congested biparous cymes or racemes of spikes or fascicled, rarely flowers solitary axillary. Flowers generally bisexual, rarely unisexual (plants then monoecious), actinomorphic, hypogynous to epigynous; bracteoles cupuliform or absent. Sepals 3-16, united into a tube, basally ± adnate to the ovary, lobes valvate, persistent. Petals as many as and alternating with sepals, free, often clawed, fleshy and conduplicate, mostly bifid and fringed, rarely persistent. Stamens 8 -numerous, free or epipetalous, anthers dorsifixed, introrse, 4-loculed rarely multilocellate, dehiscing lengthwise or by a ventral valve; staminodes in female flowers present. Ovary of (1-) 2-12, united carpels, inferior rarely perigynous or superior, (1-) 2-12-loculed, placentation axile, ovules anatropous, pendulous, usually 2 in each locule; style with simple or lobed stigma. Fruit 1-seeded, unilocular, mostly an indehiscent berry or drupe rarely septicidally dehiscent, 2-4-chambered capsule. Seeds with or without aril, endospermic or not, often viviparous; embryo straight or curved with macropodous radicle.