Herbs, shrubs, or small trees; leaves alternate, simple or palmate; stipules (when present) minute or spinose; flowers regular or zygomorphic. Sepals and petals often 4. Stamens 4, 6, or many. Ovary usually 1-celled, borne on a gynophore. Fruit capsular or baccate. Endosperm none. About 45 genera of the tropics; besides the following genera in Guam, the genus Crataeva occurs in Micronesia, in the Caroline Is.