Contains 32 genera and 68 accepted taxa overall.
This family is completely databased for all specimens.
Characteristics
RUBIACEAE
Dicot
-
Classification
GENTIANALES
RUBIACEAE
Genera
| Genus | Common Name | Taxa Count | Herbarium Specimens | Photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casasia | CASASIA | 1 | ||
| Catesbaea | LILYTHORN | 1 | ||
| Cephalanthus | BUTTONBUSH | 1 | ||
| Chiococca | MILKBERRY | 3 | ||
| Coccocypselum | COCCOCYPSELUM | 1 | ||
| Diodia | BUTTONWEED | 1 | ||
| Edrastima | 1 | |||
| Erithalis | BLACKTORCH | 1 | ||
| Ernodea | ERNODEA | 2 | ||
| Exostema | EXOSTEMA | 1 | ||
| Galium | BEDSTRAW | 8 | ||
| Guettarda | VELVETSEED | 2 | ||
| Hamelia | HAMELIA | 1 | ||
| Hexasepalum | 1 | |||
| Houstonia | BLUETS | 7 | ||
| Ixora | JUNGLEFLAME | 2 | ||
| Mitchella | MITCHELLA | 1 | ||
| Mitracarpus | GIRDLEPOD | 1 | ||
| Morinda | MORINDA | 2 | ||
| Nauclea | GUINEA PEACH | 1 | ||
| Oldenlandia | OLDENLANDIA | 3 | ||
| Oldenlandiopsis | OLDENLANDIOPSIS | 1 | ||
| Paederia | SEWER VINE | 2 | ||
| Pentas | PENTAS | 1 | ||
| Pentodon | PENTODON | 1 | ||
| Pinckneya | PINCKNEYA | 1 | ||
| Psychotria | WILD COFFEE | 4 | ||
| Randia | INDIGOBERRY | 1 | ||
| Richardia | MEXICAN CLOVER | 4 | ||
| Sherardia | SHERARDIA | 1 | ||
| Spermacoce | FALSE BUTTONWEED | 9 | ||
| Strumpfia | STRUMPFIA | 1 |
Identification Key
1. Herbs, sometimes suffrutescent or vine-like; leaf blades 0.1-3 cm wide
1. Woody vines, subshrubs, shrubs, or trees; leaf blades 0.1-25 cm wide
1. (Key A) Leaves whorled, 4-8 per node
2
1. Leaves opposite, 2 per node
3
2. Inflorescence axillary or terminal, pedunculate or flowers pedicellate
2. Inflorescence terminal with sessile flowers subtended by a whorl of leaves
3. Leaf blades 1-5 mm long
3. Leaf blades (3)5-50 mm long
4
4. Flowers pedicellate, pedicel (2)3-15 mm long
5
4. Flowers sessile to subessile, pedicel 0-3 mm long
7
5. Calyx lobes, corolla lobes, and stamens usually 5
5. Calyx lobes, corolla lobes, and stamens 4
6
6. Seeds crateriform (with a ventral depression and a linear hilar ridge within or a ventral subglobose cavity lacking a hilar ridge), or if noncrateriform then leaves linear
6. Seeds noncrateriform (leaves linear-lanceolate, elliptic, to ovate)
7. Leaves distinctly petiolate, the petiole 2-10 mm long, the blade 1.3-5 times as long as the petiole; fruit a drupe or berry
8
7. Leaves sessile or subsessile, the petiole 0-3 mm long, the blade 10 times or more the length of the petiole; fruit a capsule
9
8. Leaf blade 2-6.5 cm long; inflorescence of separate flowers, the ovaries not fused; fruit blue or purplish, with the remant of one calyx and one corolla scar
8. Leaf blade 0.8-2 cm long; inflorescence a pair of flowers with the ovaries fused; fruit red, with remnants of 2 calyces and 2 corolla scars
9. Leaf blade lacking conspicuous secondary veins
10
9. Leaf blade with conspicuous lateral veins
14
10. Carpels with 2 or more seeds
11
10. Carpels 1-seeded
12
11. Stipules with inconspicuous marginal teeth to 2 mm long; leaves ovate to elliptic, 3-11 mm wide; flowers both axillary and terminal
11. Stipules with conspicuous marginal teeth to 5 mm long; leaves linear to narrowly elliptic, 1-3(5) mm wide; flowers all axillary
12. Fruit not separating into 2 parts
12. Fruit separating into 2 parts
13
13. Stipular bristles flattened-linear, to 5 mm long, shorter than the flower and fruit; corolla lobe upper surface hirsute; fruit 5-9 mm long
13. Stipular bristles filiform, to 8 mm long, longer than the flower and fruit; corolla lobe upper surface glabrous; fruit 2-3(4.5) mm long
14. Inflorescence sessile or pedunculate, <6 flowers in the inflorescence; fruit separating into 2 parts
14. Inflorescence sessile with 6-50 sessile flowers densely clustered at one stem node (only one or some flowers may be open at a time); fruit not separating into 2 parts
15
15. Calyx and corolla lobes 4 or 5-6
15. Calyx and corolla lobes 4
16
16. Stem or leaf base frequently hispid or pilose; calyx lobes to 2 mm long, conspicuously exserted; carpels opening transversely
16. Stem or leaf base glabrate, pubescent, hispid, or pilose; calyx lobes to 1.5 mm long, conspicuously exserted or not; carpels opening longitudinally
1. (Key B) Flowers sessile in dense heads
2
1. Flowers pedicellate
4
2. Leaves opposite or whorled; fruit dry
2. Leaves opposite; fruit fleshy
3
3. Only a few flowers open simultaneously; style short-exserted; stigma bilobed, the lobes strap-like; mature fruit white to yellow
3. All or nearly all flowers open simultaneously; style long-exserted; stigma conic or cylindric; mature fruit brown to red
4. Fruit a capsule
5
4. Fruit a berry
7
5. Inflorescence with some sepals petaloid and greatly enlarged, white to pink to reddish
5. Sepals green, not petaloid, not enlarged
6
6. Plant glabrous or glabrate
6. Plant hirsute, villous, or pilose, especially on younger parts
7. Leaves 1-10 mm wide with inconspicuous lateral veins or the lateral veins extending to the leaf apex, margins revoluate or plane
8
7. Leaves 3-150 mm wide, usually with conspicuous lateral veins extending to the margin or evanescent, the margins usually plane
9
8. Scrambling shrub or vine-like; internodes mostly >7 mm long, leaves distributed along the stem
8. Erect shrub; internodes <7 mm long, leaves often densely clustered at the stem apex
9. Axillary spines present or absent; mature main stems usually axillary fascicles of leaves or with short shoots of a scarcely elongated stem of densely clustered nodes where the leaves arise
10
9. Axillary spines absent; stems lacking short shoots
11
10. Leaves 3-10 mm long; corolla lobes 4; fruit 2-4 mm long
10. Leaves 5-50 mm long; corolla lobes 5; fruit 6-13 mm long
11. Inflorescence axillary
12
11. Inflorescence terminal, new stems sometimes produced laterally below the inflorescence and well exserted beyond the inflorescence
15
12. Stipules 5-12 mm long; leaves 6-15 cm long; fruit 5-8 cm long
12. Stpules 0.5-8 mm long; leaves 1-17 cm long; fruit 0.3-1 cm long
13
13. Leaves with a fetid or unpleasant odor; base of the corolla lobes and inside of the tube pink to purple; fruit orangeish, brown, or blackish
13. Leaves with an insignificant or neutral odor; corolla lobes and tube white, yellow, to green inside; fruit white or red
14
14. Sprawling or vine-like, sometimes shrubby; stems and leaves glabrous to glabrate; inflorescence of elongate racemes or panicles; fruit white
14. Shrubs or trees, rarely sprawling; stems and leaves pubescent; inflorescence a pedunculate capitate cyme; fruit red
15. Leaves opposite or whorled; inflorescence racemose; corolla yellow to reddish orange, the outer surface pubescent
15. Leaves opposite; inflorescence subcaptiate; corolla white to greenish, the outer surface glabrous
16
16. Stipules usually stiff-pointed or spinose; corolla tube 6-45 mm long
16. Stipules chartaceous or coriaceous, rounded to acute; corolla tube 1-4 mm long
17
17. Leaf blade secondary veins plane, not impressed; stigma with 5-10 lobes, the ovary of 5-10(22) locules; fruit with 5-10 seeds
17. Leaf blade secondary veins often impressed with the blade tissue raised between the veins; stigma with 2 lobes, the ovary of 2 carpels; fruit with 2 seeds