madder family

madder family
the large plant family Rubiaceae, characterized by herbaceous plants, trees, and shrubs having simple, opposite, or whorled leaves, usually four- or five-lobed flowers, and fruit in the form of a berry, capsule, or nut, and including the gardenia, madder, partridgeberry, and shrubs and trees that are the source of coffee, ipecac, and quinine.

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Family Rubiaceae, composed of about 6,500 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees in 500 genera.

The leaves usually are large and evergreen in tropical species, deciduous in temperate species, and needlelike or scalelike in desert species. The plants may bear a single flower or many small flowers clustered together. Economically important products of the family include coffee, quinine, ipecac, the red dye alizarin (from the roots of common madder, Rubia tinctorum, and of R. cordifolia), and ornamentals including gardenias.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • madder family — n. A widely distributed natural family of mostly tropical trees and shrubs and herbs including coffee; chinchona; gardenia; madder; bedstraws; nd partridgeberry. Syn: Rubiaceae, family Rubiaceae, madder family [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • madder family — noun widely distributed family of mostly tropical trees and shrubs and herbs; includes coffee and chinchona and gardenia and madder and bedstraws and partridgeberry • Syn: ↑Rubiaceae, ↑family Rubiaceae • Hypernyms: ↑asterid dicot family • Member… …   Useful english dictionary

  • madder — madder1 [mad′ər] n. [ME mader < OE mædere, akin to ON mathra, Norw modra < IE base * modhro , dye plant > Czech modrý, blue] 1. any of a genus (Rubia) of plants of the madder family, with petals fused to form a funnel shaped corolla; esp …   English World dictionary

  • madder — madder1 /mad euhr/, n. 1. any plant of the genus Rubia, esp. the climbing R. tinctorum, of Europe, having open clusters of small, yellowish flowers. Cf. madder family. 2. the root of this plant, formerly used in dyeing. 3. the dye or coloring… …   Universalium

  • Madder — Taxobox name = Madder image width = 250px image caption = Common Madder ( Rubia tinctorum ) regnum = Plantae divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Magnoliopsida ordo = Gentianales familia = Rubiaceae tribus = Rubieae genus = Rubia genus authority = L …   Wikipedia

  • madder — 1. The dried and powdered root of Rubia tinctorum (family Rubiaceae); it contains several glycosides that upon fermentation give the red dyes alizarin and purpurin. When m. (or alizarin) is fed to young animals, the calcium in newly deposited… …   Medical dictionary

  • madder — noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English mædere; akin to Old High German matara madder Date: before 12th century 1. a Eurasian herb (Rubia tinctorum of the family Rubiaceae, the madder family) with whorled leaves and small yellowish… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • family Rubiaceae — noun widely distributed family of mostly tropical trees and shrubs and herbs; includes coffee and chinchona and gardenia and madder and bedstraws and partridgeberry • Syn: ↑Rubiaceae, ↑madder family • Hypernyms: ↑asterid dicot family • Member… …   Useful english dictionary

  • family — /fam euh lee, fam lee/, n., pl. families, adj. n. 1. parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not. 2. the children of one person or one couple collectively: We want a large family. 3. the spouse and children …   Universalium

  • List of trees and shrubs by taxonomic family — The following is a list of trees and shrubs of high notoriety. Taxonomic families for the following trees and shrubs are listed in alphabetical order, likewise the genera and closely related species.=GYMNOSPERMS= =CONIFERS= Araucariaceae: The… …   Wikipedia

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