Habit: monoecious shrubs or trees
Leaves: alternate, simple, stipulate
Flowers***: imperfect, regular; staminate inflorescences catkins; pistillate flowers solitary or in groups of 2-3 (7), sessile and surrounded by an involucre of many connate bractlets***
Sepal: 4-7, connate in staminate flowers; 4-8, very reduced and connate and adnate to ovary in pistillate flowers
Petals: absent
Stamens: 4-many, distnct
Gynoecium***: of 3-7 connate carpels; ovary inferior with 3-7 locules and 2 ovules per locule; all but one aborting
Fruit***: a nut subtended or surrounded by a woody "cupule"(accrescent involucre of bractlets) variously leafy, spiny....
Diversity: 7 genera / ca. 1000 species
Distribution: mostly North Temperate few extending to tropics; 1 genus in Southern Hemisphere, Malasia
Economics: Quercus*** -- Oak; comercial source of charcoal; cork harvested from bark!