Trees , deciduous, dioecious (possibly rarely monoecious). Bark gray, furrowed, with flattened ridges. Long shoots and short (spur) shoots present. Roots fibrous to woody. Leaves simple, alternate to fascicled, stomates abaxial; apices deeply cleft to truncate; petioles equal to or exceeding blades; resin canals absent. Pollen cones borne on spurs, catkinlike; sporophylls distributed along axis; bracts absent; pollen spheric, not winged. Seed cones absent; ovules 2, pedunculate, subtended by collar believed to comprise 2 modified megasporophylls, borne on spurs. Seeds with fleshy outer coat, inner coat hard; cotyledons 2--3.