Trees or shrubs with milky sap; leaves alternate, simple, entire; stipules mostly lacking; flowers perfect, regular; calyx 4-8-lobed, the lobes imbricate, often in 2 series; corolla 4-8-lobed, similar; stamens epipetalous, the same number as the petals and opposite them, or more and in 2 or more series; staminodia sometimes present; ovary 2-8-celled, superior; ovules 1 in each cell; fruit an indehiscent leathery or succulent berry; seeds elliptic, often without endosperm. Tropics of both hemispheres; 40 genera and over 600 species; several species important for fruit or latex. One indigenous genus in Guam.