This summary was prepared from publications by Bittenbender, H. C. and H. H. Hirae and Yokoyama, K. M., et.
Leaves develop in whorls of three, paired, or in fours.
The leaves are rarely solitary. The flowers are small, whitish, tasseled, and grow on long spikes. The nuts ripen in the fall, both the spring and fall, or through the year. The nut is encased in a leathery two valved case that is 1 inch in diameter. The case encloses one spherical nut or two hemispherical nuts.