Shrubs, ± aromatic, sometimes almost scrambling, sometimes with prickles; rhizomes 0. Lvs opposite, variously hairy, dentate, often rugose and glandular. Infl. terminal or axillary, usually corymbose, sometimes spike-like, dense, bracteate; fls sessile or subsessile, small. Calyx 2-lobed, small, scarcely accrescent. Corolla zygomorphic; tube cylindric, slender; limb flat, with 4-5, subequal lobes. Stamens 4, didynamous, included. Style included. Ovary 2-celled, each cell with 1 ovule. Fr. a succulent drupe with 2 pyrenes, not enclosed in calyx.