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.
Psychotria viridis, also known as chacruna, chacrona, or chaqruy in the Quechua languages, is a perennial, shrubby flowering plant in the coffee family Rubiaceae. It is a close relative of Psychotria carthagenensis of Ecuador. It is commonly used as an ingredient of ayahuasca, a decoction with a long history of its entheogenic use and its status as a "plant teacher" among the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon rainforest.
Imperata cylindrica is a species of perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and Southern Europe. It has also been introduced to Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Southeastern United States. It is a highly flammable pyrophyte, and can spread rapidly by colonizing disturbed areas and encouraging more frequent wildfires.
Castanea pumila, commonly known as the Allegheny chinquapin, American chinquapin or dwarf chestnut, is a species of chestnut native to the southeastern United States. The native range is from Massachusetts and New York to Maryland and extreme southern New Jersey and southeast Pennsylvania south to central Florida, west to eastern Texas, and north to southern Missouri and Kentucky. The plant's habitat is dry sandy and rocky uplands and ridges mixed with oak and hickory to 1000 m elevation. It grows best on well-drained soils in full sun or partial shade.
Hydrangea arborescens, commonly known as smooth hydrangea, wild hydrangea, sevenbark, or in some cases, sheep flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae. It is a small- to medium-sized, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub up to 2 m (7 ft) tall that is native to the eastern United States.
Palicourea is a plant genus in the family Rubiaceae. It contains about 200 species, which range from shrubs to small trees, and is distributed throughout the New World tropics.
Psychotria mariniana, the forest wild coffee or kōpiko, is a tree endemic to Hawaiʻi. The plant belongs to the Rubiaceae (coffee) family, subfamily Rubioidae. It is a tree of varying size with a dark bark, shiny leaves, and orange oval fruit.
Senna marilandica, commonly known as Maryland senna, Maryland wild senna, and wild senna, is a perennial flowering plant in the pea family (Fabaceae) native to the United States. It blooms in the summer with yellow flowers, followed by long seed pods, and can grow up to 2 m (6 ft) tall. It prefers average to wet soil.
Chiococca alba is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family (Rubiaceae) native to Florida and the extreme southern tip of Texas in the United States, Bermuda, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, the Galápagos, and tropical South America. Common names include David's milkberry, West Indian milkberry, cahinca and West Indian snowberry. The specific epithet, alba, means "white" in Latin and refers to the color of its fruits.
Psychotria nervosa, also known as Seminole balsamo or wild coffee, is a shade tolerant medium-sized shrub native to Florida as well as the West Indies and Central and South America. It produces a "small, red, ellipsoid fruit" that resembles "the true coffee bean" in shape and attract birds. Its maximum height ranges from approximately 4–10 feet.
Polyscias guilfoylei, the geranium aralia or wild coffee, is a species of evergreen shrub native to the paleotropics and neotropics. It is not closely related to the true coffee plants of the genus Coffea. It has erect branches and can grow to a height of up to 24 ft (7.3 m). The leaves are long and 1-pinnate with leaflets which are opposite. The leaf blades are variable, but usually ovate or elliptic and coarsely dentate or lacerate. The leaves are commonly variegated with margins of white or pale yellow, but can also be entirely dark green.
Psychotria ligustrifolia, the Bahama wild coffee, is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is native to Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas.
Ernodea littoralis, commonly called beech creeper or coughbush, is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family (Rubiaceae). It is native to the Florida in the United States, the Caribbean region, and Central America south to Honduras. It is found in sunny, open areas with sandy soil, in habitats such as in pinelands and dunes. It is tolerant of high salt conditions, and of human disturbance.
Sophora tomentosa, also known as necklacepod, yellow necklacepod, and occasionally as silver bush, is a pantropical shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae. It commonly ranges in height from 4 to 10 feet and often occurs in coastal conditions and near wetlands. The common name Necklacepod is derived from the characteristic string of seed pods that develop after its yellow flowers germinate into seeds.
Chrysophyllum oliviforme, commonly known as the satinleaf, is a medium-sized tree native to Florida, the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and Belize. It is also known as damson plum, wild star-apple and saffron-tree. It gets the name "satinleaf" from the distinctive colors of the leaves. The top of the leaf is dark green while the bottom is light brown or copper. This distinctive look makes it a very aesthetically pleasing tree that is commonly used as an ornamental in yards and public spaces.
Thrinax radiata, also known as the Florida thatch palm, is a medium to slow growing palm in the family Arecaceae. It is native to many Caribbean islands, Mexico, Central America, and far southern Florida. Its natural habitat is sandy, calcareous soil in coastal areas.
Dr. Charlotte M. Taylor is a botanist and professor specialising in taxonomy and conservation. She works with the large plant family Rubiaceae, particularly found in the American tropics and in the tribes Palicoureeae and Psychotrieae. This plant family is an economically important group, as it includes plant species used to make coffee and quinine. Taylor also conducts work related to the floristics of Rubiaceae and morphological radiations of the group. Taylor has collected plant samples from many countries across the globe, including Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, and the United States of America, and has named many new species known to science from these regions. As of 2015, Taylor has authored 278 land plant species' names, the seventh-highest number of such names authored by any female scientist.
Palicourea elata, formerly Psychotria elata, commonly known as girlfriend kiss and labios de puta, is a tropical plant that ranges from Central to South American rain forests in countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and Colombia. Palicourea elata is extremely sensitive and requires specific climates to grow, those climates most like rainforests are best suitable for this plant. It is most notable for its distinctly shaped red bracts and is consequently nicknamed “Hot Lips”. Though the bright red bracts are considered its most flashy feature, they are not the actual flowers of the plant but instead extravagant leaves; the flowers of Palicourea elata lie within the “red lip” leaves. Just like human lips, the hot lips plant comes in a variety of shapes and forms offering a vast array of plants. P. elata is well-studied and has been documented over centuries to provide various health benefits to native communities. Due to these benefits and the overall appearance of the plant, it has been over-harvested and is now endangered.
Alternanthera brasiliana, also known as large purple alternanthera, metal weed, bloodleaf, parrot leaf, ruby leaf, Brazilian joyweed, purple alternanthera, purple joyweed, is a flowering plant of the amaranth family that is native to the forests of South America and as well as Central America. Grown as an ornamental plant, it is very similar in appearance to Alternanthera dentata, which is listed as one of this species's synonyms.
