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.
Ixora is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is the only genus in the tribe Ixoreae. It consists of tropical evergreen trees and shrubs and holds around 544 species. Though native to the tropical and subtropical areas throughout the world, its centre of diversity is in Tropical Asia. Ixora also grows commonly in subtropical climates in the United States, such as Florida where it is commonly known as West Indian jasmine.
Bertiera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It comprises 57 species with most known from tropical Africa, five known from various Indian Ocean islands and five found in the tropics of the Americas.
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.
Psydrax is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It consists of trees, shrubs, and a few lianas in the paleotropics.
Rothmannia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described in 1776 and is named for Göran Rothman (1739–1778) by Thunberg – both were pupils of Linnaeus.
Rytigynia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in tropical and southern Africa. The genera Rytigynia and Fadogia form a strongly supported clade but neither of these genera is monophyletic.
Sericanthe is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in tropical and subtropical Africa. The genus was described by Elmar Robbrecht in 1978 based on the species in Neorosea, except for the type species, Neorosea jasminiflora, which went to Tricalysia. Bacterial leaf nodules are found in most of the species and the endophytic bacteria have been identified as Burkholderia.
Tricalysia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is found in tropical and southern Africa and on the islands in the Western Indian Ocean.
Vangueria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is named for Voa vanguer, as V. madagascariensis is known in Malagasy.
Vanguerieae is a tribe of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae and contains about 655 species in 30 genera. It is one of the most species-rich groups within the family and it is distributed across the Paleotropics.
Fadogia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genera Rytigynia and Fadogia form a strongly supported clade but neither of these genera is monophyletic.
Fadogiella is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by Walter Robyns in 1928.
Virectaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus, known as Virecta until 1952, consists exclusively of tropical African species. It is a Guineo-Congolian genus, having its highest diversity in Lower Guinea but it also occurs in the Zambezian Region. Verdcourt provided a revision in which he defined five species but three more were added later. In 2001, a detailed morphological and anatomical study of the genus was conducted and a taxonomic survey and a key to the species was provided.
Chassalia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is found from tropical Africa to (sub)tropical Asia.
Knoxieae is a tribe of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae and contains about 131 species in 16 genera. Its representatives are found in Tropical and Southern Africa, the islands in the Western Indian Ocean, the Arabian Peninsula, Tropical and Subtropical Asia, and Northern Australia.
Pavetteae is a tribe of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae and contains about 624 species in 9 genera. Its representatives are found from the tropics and subtropics of the Old World and the southern Pacific region.
