A genus of about 55 species, trees and shrubs, native of Eurasia and Africa.
ID notes: An important character is the staminal disk; three terms are used. In hololophic disks, the lobe between each stamen is obvious and separate from the stamens on either side, and each is usually 2-lobed. In paralophic disks, each lobe is deeply bipartite, and each half-lobe is fused to the base of the adjacent stamen, but is still somewhat distinct from it. In synlophic disks, the lobes are also deeply bipartite, but each half-lobe is fused confluently with the stamen base, giving the appearance that the filament has swollen base.