The Rubiaceae are 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 13,500 species in about 620 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.
Cinchona is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are reportedly naturalized in Central America, Jamaica, French Polynesia, Sulawesi, Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, and São Tomé and Príncipe off the coast of tropical Africa, and others have been cultivated in India and Java, where they have formed hybrids.
Alseis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott in 1827. The genus is native to tropical Latin America from southern Mexico to Brazil.
Remijia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. Within the family, it is a member of the subfamily Cinchonoideae and the tribe Cinchoneae.
Chiococca is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It currently holds 23 species that are native to Florida, Texas, Mexico, Central America, much of South America, the West Indies, and the islands of Galápagos and Fernando de Noronha.
Chione is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing the single species Chione venosa. It is native to the neotropics, occurring in most of Mexico, and throughout Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is typically a tree growing 10 to 20 meters tall. In harsh habitats, it may be dwarfed and shrubby. It has no known economic use.
Amaioua is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was first described by Jean Baptiste Aublet in 1775. The genus is native to tropical America from southern Mexico to Brazil, including Cuba and Trinidad.
Amphidasya is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by Paul Carpenter Standley in 1936. The genus is found in Central America and northern South America.
Arcytophyllum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains 18 species, distributed from New Mexico to Bolivia.
Augusta is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in tropical Latin America from Mexico to Brazil and also in the southwestern Pacific.
Botryarrhena is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by Adolpho Ducke in 1932. It only holds two species, occurring in Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.
The Cinchoneae are a tribe of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing about 125 species in 9 genera. Representatives are found from Costa Rica to southern tropical America. Species within Cinchoneae are characterized as small trees or shrubs with imbricate or valvate corolla aestivation and often dry capsular fruits. Many species contain alkaloids.
Cosmibuena is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is native to Chiapas, Central America, and South America as far south as Brazil.
Agouticarpa is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by Claes Persson in 2003. The genus is found from Costa Rica to Bolivia.
Calycophyllum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1830. The genus is found from Mexico, Central America, South America and the West Indies.
Capirona is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, viz. Capirona decorticans, which is native to northern South America. It has been reported from French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, and northern Brazil.
Coutarea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is native to southern Mexico, Central America, South America and the West Indies.
Didymochlamys is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is found from Nicaragua to Guyana and Ecuador.
Dialypetalantheae, synonym Condamineeae, is a tribe of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae and contains about 305 species in 31 genera. Most genera are found in Central and Southern Tropical America, but a few occur in Southeast Asia.
Alexandre Antonelli is Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK, Professor of Biodiversity and Systematic at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford. He is a biodiversity scientist working to understand the evolution and distribution of the diversity of life on Earth and how best to protect and sustainably use it. His first popular science book, The Hidden Universe: Adventures in Biodiversity, was published in July 2022.
