Evergreen trees or shrubs, dioecious. Leaves usually clustered or nearly verticillate, rarely alternate or opposite, unlobed, pinninerved, rarely triplinerved. Umbels solitary or clustered or arranged in a panicle or raceme; involucral bracts imbricate, caducous. Perianth tube short; perianth segments usually 6 in 2 whorls of 3 each, nearly equal, rarely persistent. Flowers unisexual. Male flowers: fertile stamens usually 9 in 3 whorls of 3 each; filaments of 1st and 2nd whorls eglandular, of 3rd whorls 2-glandular at base; anthers all introrse and 4-celled, cells opening by lids; rudimentary pistil small or lacking. Female flowers: staminodes as many as stamens of male flowers; ovary superior; stigma shield-shaped or dilated. Fruit seated on shallow or deep cup-shaped or discoid perianth tube.

Actinodaphne sessilifructa C. J. Qi & K. W. Liu (Guihaia 7: 215. 1987) was described from SW Hunan (Tongdao) but could not be treated here because no material was seen by the present authors.

About 100 species: tropical and subtropical regions of Asia; 17 species (13 endemic) in China.

(Authors: Huang Puhua (黄普华 Huang Pu-hwa); Henk van der Werff)