Dioecious, evergreen, slow-growing, slightly resinous shrubs or trees. Leaves more or less decussate and more or less opposite, widely spreading around leading shoots, but strongly oriented into two more or less flattened or V-shaped, spreading, pectinate ranks on all side branches and branchlets; lamina uniformly green on upper surface, with 2 broad, paler green, longitudinal bands of stomata beneath, usually set into the leaf, linear, markedly dorsiventrally flattened with a revolute margin and a single conspicuous vein containing a single large ventral resin canal, decurrent at base. Male strobili clustered in globose groups in axils of leaves of the previous year's vegetative shoots or aggregated into a compound terminal inflorescence; pollen globose without air-bladders. Female strobili often few, terminating a reduced vegetative axis, clustered in the axils of the bracts beside the tips of previous year's twigs. Cones large, fleshy and drupe-like, pendulous and stalked; seeds large, unwinged, enclosed within a thin, woody layer.

Two genera and about 12 species, ranging from the Himalayas to Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.

Cephalotaxus Siebold & Zucc.

Small dioecious, evergreen trees and shrubs with yew-like foliage. Leaves persisting for several years, arranged pectinately either side of the shoot, on which they are decurrent. Male strobili are globular heads on previous year's shoots. Female strobili occur at the base of the previous year's shoots. Cones are large and drupe-like, with a fleshy shell on the outside of the long seed, derived from cones in which only one of the ovules matures.

Contains 9 species restricted to eastern Asia.