Shrubs deciduous, usually prickly. Leaves ternate, papery, pedately or palmately quinately compound, rarely septernately compound, occasionally simple; stipules persistent, mostly adnate to base of petiole, rarely free and on twig near petiole base, narrow, undivided. Flowers bisexual, forming cymose panicles and subracemes inflorescences, or several in clusters or solitary. Aggregate fruit adnate to torus, separating from base of torus, rarely separating from torus at maturity, not or rarely hollow.

One species in China.