Rubiaceae

Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules and sympetalous actinomorphic flowers.

Description

The Rubiaceae family is characterized by its members' growth form, leaves, stipules, flowers, fruit, and other morphological features. The family is distributed primarily in the tropics, with a few species found in temperate regions.

Growth form

Members of the Rubiaceae family are mostly evergreen trees and shrubs. Some are lianas, or rarely herbs.

Leaves

The leaves of the Rubiaceae are simple, undivided, and entire, and are opposite in most cases, with interpetiolar stipules.

Flowers

The flowers of the Rubiaceae family are usually in an inflorescence that is terminal or axillary and that is cymose or racemose. They are usually actinomorphic and hermaphroditic.

Fruit

The fruit can be a berry, a capsule, or a nut, and it often contains two seeds (rarely one or more than two).

Taxonomy

The Rubiaceae family is a large family of flowering plants, including about 611 genera and more than 13,150 species.

Economic importance

Several members of the family have important economic uses. Coffea species are used to produce coffee, one of the world's most important beverages. Cinchona species are the source of quinine, a treatment for malaria. Some dye plants also belong to this family, including species of Rubia.

See also

• List of Rubiaceae genera

References

Rubiaceae Resources
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