Trees or shrubs, dioecious. Leaves alternate, simple or pinnately compound. Inflorescences spikelike to paniculate. Flowers small, 4-5-merous. Petals longer than the sepags; annular disk thick, saucer-shaped. Male flowers with twice as many stamens as petals. Female flowers with staminodes. Ovary 1-celled; styles 3, united below; stigmas more or less capitate. Drupes globose.
Schinus includes 28 species, all of which are native to the tropical Americas. One, Schinus molle, is widely cultivated in tropical regions, particularly arid tropical regions.