Rubiaceae

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Rubiaceous \Ru`bi*a"ceous\, a. [L. rubia madder, fr. rubeus
     red.] (Bot.)
     Of or pertaining to a very large natural order of plants
     ({Rubiaceae}) named after the madder ({Rubia tinctoria}), and
     including about three hundred and seventy genera and over
     four thousand species. Among them are the coffee tree, the


     trees yielding peruvian bark and quinine, the madder, the
     quaker ladies, and the trees bearing the edible fruits called
     genipap and Sierre Leone peach, besides many plants noted for
     the beauty or the fragrance of their blossoms.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Rubiaceae
       n : widely distributed family of mostly tropical trees and
           shrubs and herbs; includes coffee and chinchona and
           gardenia and madder and bedstraws and partridgeberry
           [syn: {family Rubiaceae}, {madder family}]