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Coffee family
Rubiaceae Juss.
アカネ科
The fourth-largest angiosperm family, with about 13,000 species distributed worldwide, centered in the tropics. It includes many economically and medicinally important plants such as coffee, cinchona (source of quinine for malaria), Gardenia, Rubia, and Paederia. About 60 species are native to Japan.
Key Characteristics
- ●Leaves are simple, opposite (or whorled), and entire
- ●Interpetiolar or axillary stipules are present (key diagnostic feature)
- ●Corolla is sympetalous, 4- to 5-lobed, with inferior ovary
- ●Fruit types are diverse: berries, drupes, capsules, or schizocarps
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Opposite / Whorled
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate / Palmate
Leaf margin
Serrate / Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Vine / Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Present
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
Many
Ovary position
Inferior / Superior
Stamen count
1-2 / 3-4 / 5 / 6 / 7-10
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core Eudicots > Gentianales > Rubiaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous (ca. 80 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Establishment of a stable morphological combination of opposite leaves and stipules
- ・Diverse evolution of alkaloids (caffeine, quinine, strychnine, etc.)
- ・Explosive diversification in tropical forests
Plants in Coffee family on this site
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