Shrubs and trees with leaves crowded at ends of branches. Flowers borne in axils of current leaves. Sepals 8, in 2 dissimilar whorls of 4. Corolla of 8 deeply 3-lobed petals. Staminodes alternating with stamens, triangular, fused into a cone. Fruit a 1-seeded berry. Seeds with a large basal scar.
Worldwide: 5 species from east tropical and southern Africa