Herbs, shrubs or trees; lvs. alt. simple; stipules present, often large; fls. usu. crowded in spikes or heads, monoecious or dioecious; perianth 4- parted (rarely 2- or 6-parted); tepals imbricate; somewhat united and often fleshy in fem. fls.; male fls. with 4 (2-6) stamens, fem. fls. lacking stamens; ovary 1-celled; ovule 1, pendulous; fruit a drupe or nut, but usually adjacent (to many) fem. fls. fused into a compound fruit. Sap usually thick milky. About 50 genera and nearly 1000 species of wide distribution. Four genera in Guam, three of them native.