Rubiaceae
Encyclopedia
The Rubiaceae is a family
of flowering plant
s, variously called the coffee
family, madder
family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee (Coffea
), quinine (Cinchona
), and gambier (Uncaria
), and the horticulturally valuable madder (Rubia
), west indian jasmine (Ixora
), partridgeberry (Mitchella
), Morinda
, Gardenia
, and Pentas
.
Members of the coffee family tend to be concentrated in warmer and tropical climates around the world. Currently, there are about 611 genera
and more than 13,000 species
in the Rubiaceae. This makes it the fourth largest family of flowering plants by number of species, and fifth largest by number of genera.
, which derives from the latin word "ruber", meaning "red". The family was described by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu
in 1789. The well-known genus Rubus
(blackberries and raspberries) is unrelated and is part of the Rosaceae
family.
and Asia
), diversity is highest in the humid tropics. The pattern of diversity in the family is very similar to the global distribution of plant diversity overall.
The greatest number of species occurs in Colombia
, Venezuela
and New Guinea
. When adjusted for area, Venezuela is the most diverse, followed by Colombia
and Cuba
. A large number of poorly studied species exist as understorey shrubs in Madagascar
and are threatened with habitat destruction.
by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
.
According to the World Rubiaceae checklist, 611 genera and 13,143 species were currently accepted as of 2009. Three subfamilies (Rubioideae, Cinchonoideae and Ixoroideae) and over 43 tribes are recognised. Elmar Robbrecht and Jean-François Manen have proposed that only two subfamilies be recognised, an expanded Cinchonoideae (which includes the Ixoroideae, Coptosapelta and Luculia) and the Rubioideae.
Psychotria
, with 1834 species, is the largest genus within the family, and the third-largest genus of angiosperm, behind the legume Astragalus
and the orchid Bulbophyllum
. Twenty-nine other genera also have more than 100 species. On the other hand, 211 genera are monotypic
; together they account for more than a third of all genera in the Rubiaceae, but fewer than 1% of all species.
With many large and poorly defined genera, the family has not been as extensively researched as many other of the large flowering plant families.
s with just a single ovule
, and the Cinchonoideae, which had more than one ovule per placenta. However, as early as 1893 Hans Solereder
identified this system as artificial, since individuals with a single species of Tarenna
had placentas with one or more than one ovule. During the twentieth century other characteristics were used to delineate subfamilies including the distribution of raphides, the absence of endosperm
or heterostyly
. On this basis, three, five or eight subfamilies were recognised. In 1988 Elmar Robbrecht divided the Rubiaceae into four subfamilies, the Ixoroideae, Cinchonoideae, Antirheoideae and Rubioideae. While the limits of the Rubioideae remained almost unchanged in the face of molecular studies, the Antirheoideae was shown to be polyphyletic, while the Ixoroideae was broadened and the Cinchonoideae narrowed.
The genera are arranged in tribes, and these placed in one of three recognized subfamilies. One tribe, the Coptosapelteae, and one genus, Luculia
, have not been placed within a subfamily and are sister to the rest of Rubiaceae.
s are most common, members of the family can also be tree
s, liana
s or herb
s. The flowers, which are usually bisexual, have a 4–5 lobed calyx
and generally a 4–5 lobed corolla, 4 or 5 stamen
s and two carpels
.
. The geographic distribution of these fossils, coupled with the fact that they represent all three subfamilies, is indicative of an earlier origin for the family, probably in the Late Cretaceous
or Paleocene
. Although fossils dating back to the Cretaceous
and Palaeocene have been referred to the family by various authors, none of these fossils have been confirmed as belonging to the Rubiaceae.
The oldest confirmed fossils, which are of fruit that bear strong resemblance to the genus Emmenopterys were found in Washington State and are 48–49 million years old. A fossil infructescence and fruit found in 44-million-year-old strata in Oregon
were assigned to Emmenopterys dilcheri, an extinct species. The next oldest fossils after these date to the Late Eocene and include Canthium
from Australia
, Faramea
from Panama, Guettarda
from New Caledonia
, and Paleorubiaceophyllum, an extinct genus, from the southeastern United States
.
Fossil Rubiaceae are known from three regions in the Eocene (North America north of Mexico, Mexico-Central America-Caribbean, and Southeast Pacific-Asia). In the Oligocene
they are found in these three regions and Africa. In the Miocene
they are found in these four regions, South America, and Europe.
and Hydnophytum
are interesting, as they are epiphyte
s that have evolved mutualistic relationships with ants.
(also known as Coffea robusta) and Coffea arabica
, used in the production of coffee
.
The bark of trees in the genus Cinchona
is the source of a variety of alkaloid
s, the most familiar of which is quinine
, one of the first agents effective in treating malaria
. Woodruff (Galium odoratum) is a small herbaceous perennial that contains coumarin
—a natural precursor of warfarin
—and the South American plant Psychotria ipecacuanha
is the source of the emetic ipecac
. Psychotria viridis
is frequently used as a source of dimethyltryptamine
in the preparation of ayahuasca
, a psychoactive decoction.
Originally from China, the common gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides
) is a widely grown garden plant and flower in frost-free climates worldwide. Several other species from the genus are also seen in horticulture. The genus Ixora
also contains plants seen cultivated in warmer climate gardens. The New Zealand native Coprosma repens
is a commonly used plant for hedge
s. The south African Rothmannia globosa
is seen as a specimen tree in horticulture.
Rose madder
, the crushed root of Rubia tinctorum
, yields a red dye, and the tropical Morinda citrifolia yields a yellow dye.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s, variously called the coffee
Coffea
Coffea is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. They are shrubs or small trees native to tropical and southern Africa and tropical Asia. Seeds of several species are the source of the popular beverage coffee. Coffee ranks as one of the world's most valuable and widely traded...
family, madder
Madder
Rubia is a genus of the madder family Rubiaceae, which contains about 60 species of perennial scrambling or climbing herbs and sub-shrubs native to the Old World, Africa, temperate Asia and America...
family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee (Coffea
Coffea
Coffea is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. They are shrubs or small trees native to tropical and southern Africa and tropical Asia. Seeds of several species are the source of the popular beverage coffee. Coffee ranks as one of the world's most valuable and widely traded...
), quinine (Cinchona
Cinchona
Cinchona or Quina is a genus of about 38 species in the family Rubiaceae, native to tropical South America. They are large shrubs or small trees growing 5–15 metres in height with evergreen foliage. The leaves are opposite, rounded to lanceolate and 10–40 cm long. The flowers are white, pink...
), and gambier (Uncaria
Uncaria
Uncaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It has about 40 species. Their distribution is pantropical, with most species native to tropical Asia, three from Africa and the Mediterranean and two from the neotropics. They are known colloquially as Gambier, Cat's Claw or Uña de...
), and the horticulturally valuable madder (Rubia
Rubiá
aRubiá is a municipality in the Spanish province of Ourense. It has a population of 1734 and an area of 101 km²....
), west indian jasmine (Ixora
Ixora
Ixora is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. It consists of tropical evergreen trees and shrubs and holds around 500 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...
), partridgeberry (Mitchella
Mitchella
Mitchella is a small genus from the family Rubiaceae, native to the Americas and eastern Asia.The genus Mitchella L., was named by Carl Linnaeus after his friend John Mitchell , an English physician who lived in America and gave Linnaeus much valuable information on American flora.It consists of a...
), Morinda
Morinda
Morinda is a genus of flowering plants in the madder family, Rubiaceae. The generic name is derived from the Latin words morus, meaning "mulberry," and indica, meaning "of India," referring to the shape of the fruits. -Description:...
, Gardenia
Gardenia
Gardenia is a genus of 142 species of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, Australasia and Oceania....
, and Pentas
Pentas
Pentas is a genus of the Rubiaceae family of flowering plants. Pentas lanceolata is a particularly popular species. The plants have dark green, lance-shaped, somewhat furry and deeply veined leaves providing a backdrop for prolific clusters of never-ending, five-petaled flowers. These may be red,...
.
Members of the coffee family tend to be concentrated in warmer and tropical climates around the world. Currently, there are about 611 genera
Genera
Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...
and more than 13,000 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in the Rubiaceae. This makes it the fourth largest family of flowering plants by number of species, and fifth largest by number of genera.
Etymology
The family takes its name from the madder genus RubiaRubiá
aRubiá is a municipality in the Spanish province of Ourense. It has a population of 1734 and an area of 101 km²....
, which derives from the latin word "ruber", meaning "red". The family was described by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu
Antoine Laurent de Jussieu
Antoine Laurent de Jussieu was a French botanist, notable as the first to propose a natural classification of flowering plants; much of his system remains in use today.-Life:...
in 1789. The well-known genus Rubus
Rubus
Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are...
(blackberries and raspberries) is unrelated and is part of the Rosaceae
Rosaceae
Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...
family.
Distribution
Although Rubiaceae are found in nearly every major region of the world (with the exception of continental Antarctica, the high arctic, and portions of central AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
), diversity is highest in the humid tropics. The pattern of diversity in the family is very similar to the global distribution of plant diversity overall.
The greatest number of species occurs in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. When adjusted for area, Venezuela is the most diverse, followed by Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. A large number of poorly studied species exist as understorey shrubs in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and are threatened with habitat destruction.
Taxonomy
A number of traditionally accepted families (Dialypetalanthaceae, Henriqueziaceae, Naucleaceae, and Theligonaceae) are now incorporated within Rubiaceae following molecular phylogenetic researchResearch
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, or APG, refers to an informal international group of systematic botanists who came together to try to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants that would reflect new knowledge about plant relationships discovered through phylogenetic studies., three...
.
According to the World Rubiaceae checklist, 611 genera and 13,143 species were currently accepted as of 2009. Three subfamilies (Rubioideae, Cinchonoideae and Ixoroideae) and over 43 tribes are recognised. Elmar Robbrecht and Jean-François Manen have proposed that only two subfamilies be recognised, an expanded Cinchonoideae (which includes the Ixoroideae, Coptosapelta and Luculia) and the Rubioideae.
Psychotria
Psychotria
Psychotria is a plant genus of 1900 species in the family Rubiaceae. Members of the genus are low trees in tropical forests. The distinction between Psychotria and the genus Cephaelis are not well known and many species were formerly placed there....
, with 1834 species, is the largest genus within the family, and the third-largest genus of angiosperm, behind the legume Astragalus
Astragalus
Astragalus is a large genus of about 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
and the orchid Bulbophyllum
Bulbophyllum
Bulbophyllum is the largest genus in the orchid family Orchidaceae. With more than 2,000 species, it is also one of the largest genera of flowering plants, exceeded only by Astragalus...
. Twenty-nine other genera also have more than 100 species. On the other hand, 211 genera are monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
; together they account for more than a third of all genera in the Rubiaceae, but fewer than 1% of all species.
With many large and poorly defined genera, the family has not been as extensively researched as many other of the large flowering plant families.
History
Rubiaceae were "classically" divided into two subfamilies, the Coffeoideae, which had placentaPlacenta
The placenta is an organ that connects the developing fetus to the uterine wall to allow nutrient uptake, waste elimination, and gas exchange via the mother's blood supply. "True" placentas are a defining characteristic of eutherian or "placental" mammals, but are also found in some snakes and...
s with just a single ovule
Ovule
Ovule means "small egg". In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: The integument forming its outer layer, the nucellus , and the megaspore-derived female gametophyte in its center...
, and the Cinchonoideae, which had more than one ovule per placenta. However, as early as 1893 Hans Solereder
Hans Solereder
Hans Solereder , was a German botanist and university professor.Solereder studied biology from 1880 at the University of Munich, under Radlkofer, and was awarded a PhD in 1885. From 1886 to 1890 he was Assistant, and from 1888 tutor in the botany department's laboratory. In 1890 he became curator...
identified this system as artificial, since individuals with a single species of Tarenna
Tarenna
Tarenna is a genus of plant in family Rubiaceae. It contains the following species :* Tarenna agumbensis, Sundararaghaven* Tarenna drummondii, Bridson* Tarenna luhomeroensis, Bridson...
had placentas with one or more than one ovule. During the twentieth century other characteristics were used to delineate subfamilies including the distribution of raphides, the absence of endosperm
Endosperm
Endosperm is the tissue produced inside the seeds of most flowering plants around the time of fertilization. It surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition in the form of starch, though it can also contain oils and protein. This makes endosperm an important source of nutrition in human diet...
or heterostyly
Heterostyly
Heterostyly is a unique form of polymorphism and herkogamy in flowers. In a heterostylous species, two or three different morphological types of flowers, termed morphs, exist in the population. On each individual plant, all flowers share the same morph. The flower morphs differ in the lengths of...
. On this basis, three, five or eight subfamilies were recognised. In 1988 Elmar Robbrecht divided the Rubiaceae into four subfamilies, the Ixoroideae, Cinchonoideae, Antirheoideae and Rubioideae. While the limits of the Rubioideae remained almost unchanged in the face of molecular studies, the Antirheoideae was shown to be polyphyletic, while the Ixoroideae was broadened and the Cinchonoideae narrowed.
Subfamilies
Luculia
Luculia is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It presents as a shrub or small tree. Generally found on upland scrub and on woodland or forest margins. The plant has large leaves from 20-35cm with prominent veins carried in opposite pairs and with a terminal of an umbel or...
, have not been placed within a subfamily and are sister to the rest of Rubiaceae.
|
|
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Characteristics
Rubiaceae are an easily recognizable family characterized by opposite leaves that are simple and entire, with interpetiolar stipules, tubular sympetalous corollas and an inferior ovary. Exceptionally, there are some plants that have only a single leaf at each node, alternating from one side to the other. In these cases, the alternate leaf arrangement is produced through the suppression of one leaf at each node. A wide variety of growth forms are present in the Rubiaceae. While shrubShrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s are most common, members of the family can also be tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, liana
Liana
A liana is any of various long-stemmed, woody vines that are rooted in the soil at ground level and use trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy to get access to well-lit areas of the forest. Lianas are especially characteristic of tropical moist deciduous...
s or herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s. The flowers, which are usually bisexual, have a 4–5 lobed calyx
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
and generally a 4–5 lobed corolla, 4 or 5 stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s and two carpels
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
.
Evolution
The fossil history of Rubiaceae goes back at least as far as the EoceneEocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
. The geographic distribution of these fossils, coupled with the fact that they represent all three subfamilies, is indicative of an earlier origin for the family, probably in the Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series...
or Paleocene
Paleocene
The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...
. Although fossils dating back to the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
and Palaeocene have been referred to the family by various authors, none of these fossils have been confirmed as belonging to the Rubiaceae.
The oldest confirmed fossils, which are of fruit that bear strong resemblance to the genus Emmenopterys were found in Washington State and are 48–49 million years old. A fossil infructescence and fruit found in 44-million-year-old strata in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
were assigned to Emmenopterys dilcheri, an extinct species. The next oldest fossils after these date to the Late Eocene and include Canthium
Canthium
Canthium is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. They are shrubs and small trees. The leaves are deciduous and the stems are usually thorny.-Distribution:They are native to India, Sri Lanka, and tropical East Africa.-Taxonomy:...
from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Faramea
Faramea
Faramea is a genus of plant in family Rubiaceae.Species include:* F. angusta C. M. Taylor* F. biflora J. G. Jardim & Zappi* F. capillipes* F. exemplaris Standl.* F. hymenocalyx M. Gomes* F. nocturna J. G. Jardim & Zappi...
from Panama, Guettarda
Guettarda
Guettarda is a plant genus in the family Rubiaceae. Most of these plants are known by the common name Velvetseed. Estimates of the number of species range from about 50 to 162. Most of the species are neotropical. Twenty are found in New Caledonia and one reaches Australia...
from New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, and Paleorubiaceophyllum, an extinct genus, from the southeastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Fossil Rubiaceae are known from three regions in the Eocene (North America north of Mexico, Mexico-Central America-Caribbean, and Southeast Pacific-Asia). In the Oligocene
Oligocene
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
they are found in these three regions and Africa. In the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
they are found in these four regions, South America, and Europe.
Ecology
When the family is viewed as a whole, it is clear that the Rubiaceae are tolerant of a broad array of environmental conditions (soil types, altitudes, community structures, etc.), and not specialists for one specific habitat type (although often genera within the family are). The plants tend not to be eaten by the caterpillar larvae of butterflies, but some sphingids (Semanophorae) do appear to prefer them. The genera MyrmecodiaMyrmecodia
Myrmecodia is a genus of epiphytic myrmecophytes native to Southeast Asia and large islands extending south to Queensland in Australia. Myrmecodia plants grow in tree branches and on trunks. In nature, Myrmecodia tubers often grow hanging downward on bare branches without significant amounts of...
and Hydnophytum
Hydnophytum
Hydnophytum is a genus of epiphytic myrmecophytes native to Southeast Asia, the Pacific region and also extending into Queensland in northern Australia. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek hydnon "tuber", and phyton "plant", after their appearance with their swollen succulent stems. The...
are interesting, as they are epiphyte
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
s that have evolved mutualistic relationships with ants.
Uses
The most economically important member of the family, and the world's second most important commodity (after petroleum) are the two species of shrub Coffea canephoraCoffea canephora
Robusta coffee is a variety of coffee which has its origins in central and western sub-Saharan Africa. It is a species of flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family. Though widely known as Coffea robusta, the plant is scientifically identified as Coffea canephora, which has two main varieties -...
(also known as Coffea robusta) and Coffea arabica
Coffea arabica
Coffea arabica is a species of Coffea originally indigenous to the mountains of Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula, hence its name, and also from the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan. It is also known as the "coffee shrub of Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica coffee"...
, used in the production of coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
.
The bark of trees in the genus Cinchona
Cinchona
Cinchona or Quina is a genus of about 38 species in the family Rubiaceae, native to tropical South America. They are large shrubs or small trees growing 5–15 metres in height with evergreen foliage. The leaves are opposite, rounded to lanceolate and 10–40 cm long. The flowers are white, pink...
is the source of a variety of alkaloid
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
s, the most familiar of which is quinine
Quinine
Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
, one of the first agents effective in treating malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
. Woodruff (Galium odoratum) is a small herbaceous perennial that contains coumarin
Coumarin
Coumarin is a fragrant chemical compound in the benzopyrone chemical class, found in many plants, notably in high concentration in the tonka bean , vanilla grass , sweet woodruff , mullein , sweet grass , cassia cinnamon and sweet clover...
—a natural precursor of warfarin
Warfarin
Warfarin is an anticoagulant. It is most likely to be the drug popularly referred to as a "blood thinner," yet this is a misnomer, since it does not affect the thickness or viscosity of blood...
—and the South American plant Psychotria ipecacuanha
Psychotria ipecacuanha
Carapichea ipecacuanha is a species of flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family. Its common name, Ipecacuanha, is derived from the Tupi i-pe-kaa-guéne, which translates to "road-side sick-making plant". The plant has been discussed under a variety of synonyms over the years by various botanists...
is the source of the emetic ipecac
Syrup of ipecac
Syrup of ipecac , commonly referred to as ipecac, is derived from the dried rhizome and roots of the ipecacuanha plant, and is a well known emetic .-Preparation:...
. Psychotria viridis
Psychotria viridis
Psychotria viridis is a shrub from the coffee family, Rubiaceae. It has many local names, including Chacruna and Chacrona ....
is frequently used as a source of dimethyltryptamine
Dimethyltryptamine
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound of the tryptamine family. DMT is found in several plants, and also in trace amounts in humans and other mammals, where it is originally derived from the essential amino acid tryptophan, and ultimately produced by the enzyme INMT...
in the preparation of ayahuasca
Ayahuasca
Ayahuasca is any of various psychoactive infusions or decoctions prepared from the Banisteriopsis spp. vine, usually mixed with the leaves of dimethyltryptamine-containing species of shrubs from the Psychotria genus...
, a psychoactive decoction.
Originally from China, the common gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides
Gardenia jasminoides
Gardenia jasminoides, is a fragrant flowering evergreen tropical plant, a favorite in gardens worldwide. It originated in Asia and is most commonly found growing in Vietnam, Southern China, Taiwan, Japan and India...
) is a widely grown garden plant and flower in frost-free climates worldwide. Several other species from the genus are also seen in horticulture. The genus Ixora
Ixora
Ixora is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. It consists of tropical evergreen trees and shrubs and holds around 500 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...
also contains plants seen cultivated in warmer climate gardens. The New Zealand native Coprosma repens
Coprosma repens
Coprosma repens is a shrub or small tree that is native to New Zealand. Common names include Taupata, Mirror Bush, Looking-glass Bush, New Zealand Laurel and Shiny Leaf.-Description:...
is a commonly used plant for hedge
Hedge
Hedge may refer to:* Hedge or hedgerow, line of closely spaced shrubs planted to act as a barrier* Hedge , investment made to limit loss* Hedge , intentionally non-committal or ambiguous sentence fragments-See also:...
s. The south African Rothmannia globosa
Rothmannia globosa
Rothmannia globosa is a small but highly decorative South African tree of the Rubiaceae family. It occurs in evergreen forest and along forest margins in the Eastern Cape and north to Limpopo Province and Swaziland....
is seen as a specimen tree in horticulture.
Rose madder
Rose madder
Rose Madder is the commercial name sometimes used to designate a paint made from the pigment Madder Lake - a traditional lake pigment, extracted from the common madder plant ....
, the crushed root of Rubia tinctorum
Rubia tinctorum
Rubia tinctorum, the common madder or dyer's madder, is a plant species in the genus Rubia.The plant's roots contain several polyphenolic compounds like 1,3-Dihydroxyanthraquinone , 1,4-Dihydroxyanthraquinone , 1,2,4-Trihydroxyanthraquinone and 1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone...
, yields a red dye, and the tropical Morinda citrifolia yields a yellow dye.
External links
- Rubiaceae at The Plant List
- Rubiaceae, Dialypetalanthaceae, Henriquezaceae, Naucleaceae, Theligonaceae at The Families of Flowering Plants (DELTA)
- Rubiaceae at the Encyclopedia of Life
- Rubiaceae at the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website
- Rubiaceae at the online Flora of China
- Rubiaceae at the online Flora of Pakistan
- Rubiaceae at the online Flora of Zimbabwe
- Rubiaceae at the online Flora of Western Australia
- Rubiaceae at the online Flora of New Zealand
- Rubiaceae at Christian Puff's online Rubiaceae Flora of Thailand
- Rubiaceae at the Integrated Taxonomic Information System
- Rubiaceae at the USDA NRCS PLANTS database
- Rubiaceae Research at the National Botanic Garden of Belgium
- World Checklist of Rubiaceae at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew