[2][3] Members of this family have 2-ranked[clarification needed] coriaceous leaves, which, if fresh, typically have a radish-like or peppery taste.

The flowers are fasciculate and usually small, and the fruits of these species are a single-seeded drupe crown by the persistent stigmas.

It is the only family outside Brassicales that produces mustard oils.

This family was formerly a tribe (Drypeteae) of the subfamily Phyllanthoideae in the Euphorbiaceae.

When the Phyllanthoideae was separated to form the new family Phyllanthaceae, it was decided that the former Drypeteae would also stand alone, with the status of a family: Putranjivaceae.