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.
Morinda is a genus of flowering plants in the madder family, Rubiaceae. The generic name is derived from the Latin words morus "mulberry", from the appearance of the fruits, and indica, meaning "of India".
Sherardia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, Sherardia arvensis, the (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.
Pentas is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is found in tropical and southern Africa, the Comoros, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula.
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.
Oldenlandia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is pantropical in distribution and has about 240 species. The type species for the genus is Oldenlandia corymbosa.
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.
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.
Bobea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. All species in this genus are endemic to Hawaii. Bobea was named for Jean-Baptiste Bobe-Moreau by Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré in 1830 in his book Voyage de l'Uranie.
Palicourea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It contains 694 species, which range from shrubs to small trees, and is distributed throughout the New World tropics.
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).
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.
Strumpfia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, viz. Strumpfia maritima, which is found from southern Florida to northern Venezuela. Strumpfia maritima is also the only species in the tribe Strumpfieae. It is an evergreen shrub of coastal areas that rarely exceeds 1 m (3.3 ft) in height. Pride of Big Pine is a common name. Strumpfia was named by Nicolaus Jacquin in 1760 in his compilation entitled Enumeratio Systematis Plantarum. It was named for Christopher Strumpf, professor of chemistry and botany at Hall, in Magdeburg, and editor of Carl Linnaeus's Genera Plantarum.
Retiniphyllum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae and contains 20 species. It is the only genus in the tribe Retiniphylleae. The representatives are shrubs or small trees that grow in white sand soils in tropical South America. They are mainly distributed in the Guayana Region (Venezuela) but also occur in the Amazon Basin, the eastern Andes and central and eastern Brasil.
Normandia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1872. The genus contains only one species, Normandia neocaledonica, which is endemic to New Caledonia. The genus is related to Coprosma and Nertera.
Nematostylis is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, i.e. Nematostylis anthophylla, which is endemic to Madagascar.
Crossopteryx is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, viz. Crossopteryx febrifuga, which is found in tropical and southern Africa.
Cruckshanksia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is found in Argentina and Chile.
Deccania is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, viz. Deccania pubescens, which is endemic to India.
