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Achiote family
Bixaceae Kunth
ベニノキ科
A small family of shrubs and small trees native to tropical America. Centered on a single species, Bixa orellana (annatto tree). The red pigment (annatto) from the seeds is used worldwide as a food coloring. In Japan, it is cultivated as an ornamental in Okinawa and warm regions.
Key Characteristics
- ●Leaves ovate, alternate
- ●Flowers large, pink to white, 5-merous
- ●Fruit a spiny, globose capsule containing numerous seeds with red pigment
- ●Evergreen shrubs to small trees
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Palmate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Present
Latex
Present
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
Many
Petal fusion
Free
Ovary position
Superior
Stamen count
5
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Malvales > Bixaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous (ca. 80 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Evolution of the ability to produce annatto (bixin), a red carotenoid pigment
- ・Long-term use as food and dye by indigenous peoples of Central and South America
Plants in Achiote family on this site
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