Monoecious, sometimes dioecious trees or shrubs. Secondary xylem without vessels. Leaves simple, usually small, narrow or scale-like, mostly evergreen. Pollen sacs borne on the under-surface of microsporophylls arranged in cones. Ovules usually borne on a scale, mostly subtended by a sterile bract; scales usually becoming woody or fleshy after fertilization, forming woody or rarely berry-like cones. Male gametes not motile. Embryo with 2-15 cotyledons.