Dioecious or monoecious, evergreen trees or lianes. Indumentum conisting of erect, branched-stellate hairs. Leaves usually cordate at the base, minutely punctate and glaucous beneath; main lateral nerves pronounced, in 15-60 pairs; tertiary nerves subparallel. Inflorescences consisting of divaricately-branching panicles, with flowers clustered in numerous dense obovoid-spherical heads at the ends of the inflorescence branches. Flowers unisexual, sessile. Male flowers: perianth 3-4-lobed; stamen filaments fused into a column; anthers 2-6, joined to the column. Female flowers: perianth as in the male flowers; stigma indistinct. Fruit oblong, ellipsoid or globular with a thick cartilaginous pericarp, dehiscent. Aril deeply laciniate, almost to the base. Endosperm ruminate. Worldwide: 3-4 species occurring in tropical Africa Burundi: 2 taxa. |
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