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.
Galium is a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae, occurring in the temperate zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Some species are informally known as bedstraw.
Sherardia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, viz. Sherardia arvensis or (blue) field madder, which is widespread across most of Europe and northern Africa as well as southwest and central Asia and Macaronesia. It is also reportedly naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Kerguelen, Ethiopia, Sudan, southern Africa, Mexico, Costa Rica, South America, Bermuda, Cuba, Haiti and much of Canada and the United States.
Diodia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The genus is found from southern and eastern United States, South America, Central America, Mexico, the West Indies and tropical Africa.
Psychotria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It contains 1,582 species and is therefore one of the largest genera of flowering plants. The genus has a pantropical distribution and members of the genus are small understorey trees in tropical forests. Some species are endangered or facing extinction due to deforestation, especially species of central Africa and the Pacific.
Robynsia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by John Hutchinson and was named after his friend and colleague Walter Robyns. The genus contains only one species, Robynsia glabrata, which is found in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. The species is morphologically similar to the genus Cuviera but differs by having long, slender corolla tubes.
Burchellia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, viz. Burchellia bubalina, which is endemic to southern Africa: the Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Provinces in South Africa, and Eswatini. It is commonly known as "wild pomegranate" (English) or "wildegranaat" (Afrikaans).
Vangueria madagascariensis, commonly known by the names Spanish-tamarind, tamarind-of-the-Indies, or voa vanga, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae native to the African continent having edible fruit. It is the type species of the genus Vangueria and was described in 1791 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin.
Atractogyne is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in western and western-central tropical Africa.
Batopedina is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by Bernard Verdcourt in 1953. The genus is found in Burkina Faso, Ghana, D.R.Congo, and Zambia.
Benzonia corymbosa is a species of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae, endemic to Guinea in West Africa. It is the only species in the genus Benzonia. It was described by Heinrich Christian Friedrich Schumacher in 1827.
Brenania is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found from Nigeria to Cameroon, Gabon, Cabinda, Central African Republic, Congo, and D.R.Congo. The genus was described in 1958 and contained only the type species Brenania spathulifolia.
Craterispermum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It contains 16 species that occur in tropical Africa and Seychelles. It is the only genus in the tribe Craterispermeae, of which the divergence time is estimated at 34.8 million years ago.
Cremaspora is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is the only genus in the tribe Cremasporeae. It was described by George Bentham in 1849. The genus is widespread across much of sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Tanzania and south to Mozambique and Zimbabwe, in addition to Madagascar, Comoros, and Cape Verde. There are, however, only two currently recognized species.
Colletoecema is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is the only genus in the tribe Colletoecemateae. The 3 species are found from west-central tropical Africa to Angola.
Conostomium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is found from Ethiopia to South Africa.
Dirichletia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is found northeastern tropical Africa to Namibia.
Dolichopentas is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is found in tropical Africa.
Euclinia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is found in tropical Africa and Madagascar.
