Trees or usually climbing shrubs. Leaves entire, opposite, sometimes exstipulate. Flowers bisexual, in axillary or terminal racemes or panicles. Sepals 5, united, a few with glands at the base. Petals 5, clawed. Stamens 10, obdiplostemonous, sometimes less; filaments connate at the base, anthers bilobed, dehiscing longitudinally. Carpels 3, united; ovary superior, 3-locular, placentation axile, with one ovule in each locule. Fruit schizocarpic, of 3 mericarps which are often winged, or a drupe. Seed without endosperm.
A family of 60 genera and 800 species; mainly tropical and S. America, tropical Africa and Asia. Represented in W. Pakistan by 2 genera.
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to the United States Depart¬ment of Agriculture for financing this research under P. L. 480. Thanks are also due to Messrs B.L. Burtt, I.C. Hedge and Miss J. Lamond of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, for their helpful suggestions.
