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. The family contains about 14,100 species in about 580 genera, which makes it the fourth-largest angiosperm family. Rubiaceae has a cosmopolitan distribution; however, the largest species diversity is concentrated in the tropics and subtropics. Economically important genera include Coffea, the source of coffee; Cinchona, the source of the antimalarial alkaloid quinine; ornamental cultivars ; and historically some dye plants.
Gentianales is an order of flowering plant, included within the asterid clade of eudicots. It comprises more than 20,000 species in about 1,200 genera in 5 families. More than 80% of the species in this order belong to the family Rubiaceae.
Cucumis is a genus of twining, tendril-bearing plants in the family Cucurbitaceae which includes the cucumber, true melons, the horned melon, and the West Indian gherkin.
Boswellia is a genus of trees in the order Sapindales, known for its fragrant resin. The biblical incense frankincense is an extract from the resin of the tree Boswellia sacra, and is now produced also from B. frereana. Boswellia species are moderate-sized flowering plants, including both trees and shrubs.
The genus of the myrrhs, Commiphora, is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout the (sub-) tropical regions of Africa, the western Indian Ocean islands, the Arabian Peninsula, India, and South America. The genus is drought-tolerant and common throughout the xerophytic scrub, seasonally dry tropical forests, and woodlands of these regions.
Blepharidium is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, viz. Blepharidium guatemalense, which is native to Guatemala, Honduras and southern Mexico. Older works might mention two species.
Canthium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. They are shrubs and small trees. The leaves are deciduous and the stems are usually thorny.
Kadua is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It comprises 29 species, all restricted to Polynesia. Twenty-two of these are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Some of the species are common at high elevation. Others are single-island endemics or very rare, and a few are probably extinct. Kadua affinis is widely distributed in Hawaii and is polymorphic. The type species for the genus is Kadua acuminata.
Ophiorrhiza is a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family (Rubiaceae). It contains 372 species native to the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, China, Taiwan, Japan, Malesia, Papuasia, Queensland, and the South Pacific. Species of the genus contain camptothecin, an alkaloid used to make chemotherapeutic agents. Many Ophiorrhiza species are endemic to certain areas of the Western Ghats.
Isertia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It contains 15 species of shrubs or small trees that are indigenous to the neotropics. A few are cultivated as ornamentals.
Plocama is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by William Aiton in 1789. It is distributed from the Canary Islands to northwestern India.
Plocama puberula is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to the Socotra archipelago of Yemen. Its natural habitat is rocky areas.
Plocama thymoides is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to the Socotra archipelago of Yemen, where it occurs in semi-deciduous woodland habitat. It is listed as an endangered species by the IUCN under the basionym Gaillonia thymoides.
Plocama tinctoria is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to northern Somalia and the Socotra archipelago of Yemen. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is listed by the IUCN as a threatened species under the basionym Gaillonia tinctoria.
Coffeeae is a tribe of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae and contains about 333 species in 11 genera. Its representatives are found in tropical and southern Africa, Madagascar, the western Indian Ocean, tropical and subtropical Asia, and Queensland.
Sabiceeae is a tribe of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae and contains about 164 species in 7 genera. Its representatives are found in tropical Africa, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and from Mexico to tropical America. The genus Sabicea is one of the rare genera in Rubiaceae that occurs both in tropical Africa and tropical America.
Birgitta Bremer, Swedish botanist and academic, is professor at Stockholm University, and director of the Bergius Botanic Garden.
Afroqueta capensis is the only member of Afroqueta, a monotypic genus of flowering plant. It is colloquially called Haarbossie.
Seychellea sechellarum is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is a shrub endemic to the Seychelles. It is the sole species in genus Seychellea.
