Trees, tall, deciduous. Indumentum stellate. Leaves large, opposite or whorled, petiolate. Panicles terminal, with many dichotomous cymes; bracts small, narrow, early deciduous. Calyx campanulate, tube short, lobes spreading. Stamens 5 or 6, inserted on apical part of tube, exserted; anthers dehiscing by longitudinal slits. Ovary 4-locular; ovule 1 per locule. Stigma 2-cleft. Fruit enclosed in enlarged persistent calyx, endocarp bony, exocarp thin. Seeds oblong.

About three species: mainly in India, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Philippines; one species introduced and sometimes naturalized in tropical and subtropical China.