Shrubs or herbs with simple spiralled leaves; stipules none; flowers axillary, solitary or in inflorescences, strongly zygomorphic; calyx 5-lobed; corolla 5-lobed, but split along one side and appearing somewhat flattened; stamens 5, free; ovary superior, half-inferior, or inferior, 2-celled; cells 1-many-ovulate; style simple; fruit a drupe or capsule with flat, endospermous seeds. About 13 genera and 300 species, of extreme South America, New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific Islands, and Tropical Asia, with one species in the Caribbean region.