Evergreen, rarely deciduous trees, scandent shrubs or woody climbers, glabrous or pubescent, very rarely armed with short spines (Sabia japonica). Leaves spirally arranged, penninerved, simple or imparipinnate, with dentate or entire margins, sometimes heteromorphic, often on subwoody petiole bases, estipulate, the leaflets often on pulvini. Flowers small, hermaphroditic, actinomorphic or zygomorphic, in terminal or axillary panicles, these often reduced to solitary axillary flowers; the pedicels often very short, provided with 0-numerous minute bracts; sepals, petals and stamens opposite to each other; sepals (4)5, imbricate, free or ± connate at the base, equal or the inner 2 much smaller; petals (4)5, the innermost 2 often much smaller; stamens and staminodes 5; stamens all polliniferous (Sabia), or only the 2 opposite the inner petals polliniferous and the 3 other staminodial; thecae unilocellate; filament below the anther often swollen or bearing a collar-like extension (the latter perhaps formed by connective); nectary disk thin, annular, surrounding the base of the ovary, its lobes and ribs, if present, alternating with the stamens; ovary syncarpous of 2(3) carpels, either (all Ophiocaryon, very rarely in Sabia) the carpels free in the apical part and ending in 2 short stylodia with capitate stigmas, or (Meliosma, nearlyall Sabia) the carpels apically united into a short, cylindric or conical style with a capitate stigma; cells 2(3), each with (1)2 pendulous or horizontal, axile, hemitropous, unitegmic, crassinucellar ovules. Fruit 1-celled or rarely 2-coccous, asymmetric, drupaceous or dry, indehiscent, developing a single seed; endocarp osseous or crustaceous. Endosperm scanty or wanting; embryo with an elongated, curved hypocotyl and 2 flat, folded or coiled cotyledons.