 They are trees or shrubs, growing to 10–45 m tall.Fossil evidence shows the genus formerly had a much wider range in the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe and central Asia until the late Pliocene ice ages, and somewhat earlier in North America.The Indian awlking ("Choaspes benjaminii") is one of the Lepidoptera whose caterpillars feed on "Meliosma"; they have been found on "M. pungens", "rhoifolia", "M. rigida", and "M. squamulata".