Pycnandra Benth. is a member of the pantropical family Sapotaceae (Chrysophylloideae) and the Niemeyera complex, a group that is found in Australia and New Caledonia. Generic limits in the complex have been problematic and Pycnandra is here given a circumscription to include the entire clade that is restricted to New Caledonia. Several lineages are therefore relegated to the subgeneric level that will subsequently be revised. In a first step, we revise P. subgenus Pycnandra with 12 recognised species, of which seven (P. atrofusca, P. cylindricarpa, P. glaberrima, P. linearifolia, P. longipetiolata, P. paucinervia and P. viridiflora) are described as new. Subgenus Pycnandra is endemic to Grande Terre, the main island of New Caledonia. The members grow in a wide range of habitats from dry maquis vegetation to moist humid forest, from sea level to the higher massif, and on ultramafic soils to schist and greywacke. Diagnostic characters for Pycnandra include absence of staminodes, a single-seeded fruit, plano-convex cotyledons and lack of endosperm. A glabrous ovary is a useful character distinguishing P. subgenus Pycnandra from the congeners, although there are two exceptions. P. viridiflora is included in the subgenus even though it has a pubescent ovary and Ochrothallus wagapensis is excluded despite a glabrous ovary. Because of past and present mining and logging activities in New Caledonia, conservation assessments are urgently needed. Preliminary IUCN Red List assessments are here provided for all members of the subgenus Pycnandra. Three species (P. longipetiolata, P. paniensis and P. paucinervia) are proposed the IUCN status Endangered and another (P. viridiflora) is proposed to be Critically Endangered.