Rubiaceae

Comparative images of this family are given below except for the genera Argostemma, Coffea, Debia, Dimetia, Exallage, Galium, Gardenia,
Hedyotis, Hymenodictyon, Ixora, Ophiorrhiza, Lasianthus, Leptodermis,
Leptopetalum, Luculia, Morinda, Mussaenda, Mycetia, Neanotis,
Oldenlandia, Pavetta, Psychotria, Rubia, Scleromitrion, Spermacoce,
Wendlandia (whose comparative images can be seen by clicking on these links):
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Adina cordifolia (Roxb.) Brandis (India to China (Yunnan) and Pen. Malaysia (Perlis) as per WCSP)

Adina rubella Hance (Introduced) (China North-Central; China Southeast; Korea as per Catalogue of Life)

Aidiopsis orophila (Miq.) Ridsdale (Andaman Islands, Thailand to W. Malesia: Andaman Is., Jawa, Malaya, Sumatera, Thailand as per POWO)

Arachnothryx leucophylla (Kunth) Planch. (Introduced) (El Salvador; Mexico Central; Mexico Gulf; Mexico Northeast; Mexico Northwest; Mexico Southeast; Mexico Southwest as per Catalogue of life)

   

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Benkara fasciculata (Roxb.) Ridsdale (Central Himalaya to Philippines: Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Himalaya, Malaya, Nepal, Philippines, Vietnam as per POWO)
   
 

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Benkara malabarica (Lam.) Tirveng. (S. India, Sri Lanka as per WCSP)

 

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Canthium angustifolium Roxb. (India to Thailand: Assam, Bangladesh, India, Thailand as per POWO)

  
 

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Canthium coromandelicum (Burm.f.) Alston (Bangladesh; India; Sri Lanka as per Catalogue of Life)

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Canthium rheedei DC. (W. & S. India, Sri Lanka as per POWO)

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Catesbaea spinosa L. (Introduced) (Bahamas to Cuba as per POWO)

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Catunaregam spinosa (Thunb.) Tirveng. (Pakistan to S. China and W. Malesia: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya as per POWO)

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Ceriscoides turgida (Roxb.) Tirveng. (Indian Subcontinent to Indo-China: Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya as per POWO)

  

Chassalia curviflora var. ophioxyloides (Wall.) Deb & B.Krishna (Indian Subcontinent to S. China and W. & Central Malesia: Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sumatera, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam as per POWO)

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Cinchona calisaya Wedd. (Introduced) (Central Peru to Central Bolivia: Bolivia, Peru, Zaïre; Introduced into: Caroline Is., Guatemala, Gulf of Guinea Is. as per POWO)

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Damnacanthus indicus C.F.Gaertn. (Assam to S. China, Korea (Jeju-do), Central & S. Japan, Taiwan: Assam, Bangladesh, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Taiwan, Tibet as per POWO)

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Deccania pubescens var. candolleana (Wight & Arn.) Tirveng. (S. India as per POWO)

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Dentella repens (L.) J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (SE. China to Tropical Asia and W. Pacific: Bangladesh, Caroline Is., China Southeast, India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Marianas, Marshall Is., Nepal, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Northern Territory, Philippines, Queensland, South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam; Introduced into: Andaman Is., Chagos Archipelago, Madagascar, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest as per POWO)

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Discospermum apiocarpum Dalzell ex Hook.f. (Endemic to India: Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu as per BSI Flora of India Checklist)

   

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Discospermum sphaerocarpum Dalzell ex Hook.f. (S. India, Sri Lanka as per POWO)

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Geophila repens (L.) I.M.Johnst. (Andaman Is.; Angola; Argentina Northeast; Assam; Bangladesh; Belize; Benin; Bismarck Archipelago; Bolivia; Borneo; Brazil North; Brazil Northeast; Brazil South; Brazil Southeast; Brazil West-Central; Burkina; Cameroon; Caroline Is.; Central African Repu; Chad; China South-Central; China Southeast; Colombia; Comoros; Congo; Cook Is.; Costa Rica; Cuba; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; Ethiopia; Fiji; French Guiana; Gabon; Ghana; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Gulf of Guinea Is.; Guyana; Hainan; Haiti; Honduras; India; Ivory Coast; Jamaica; Jawa; Kenya; KwaZulu-Natal; Leeward Is.; Lesser Sunda Is.; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Malaya; Mexico Southeast; Mexico Southwest; Mozambique; Myanmar; Nepal; New Guinea; Nicaragua; Nicobar Is.; Nigeria; Niue; Panam; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Puerto Rico; Samoa; Santa Cruz Is.; Sierra Leone; Society Is.; Solomon Is.; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Sulawesi; Sumatera; Suriname; Taiwan; Tanzania; Thailand; Togo; Tonga; Trinidad-Tobago; Uganda; Vanuatu; Venezuela; Vietnam; Wallis-Futuna Is.; Windward Is.; Zare; Zimbabwe as per CoL)

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Guettarda speciosa L. (Kenya to S. Africa, Tropical & Subtropical Asia to Pacific: Aldabra, Andaman Is., Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, Caroline Is., Chagos Archipelago, China Southeast, Christmas I., Cocos (Keeling) Is., Comoros, Cook Is., Fiji, Gilbert Is., Hainan, India, Jawa, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Laccadive Is., Lesser Sunda Is., Line Is., Madagascar, Malaya, Maldives, Maluku, Marianas, Marquesas, Marshall Is., Mozambique, Mozambique Channel I, Nansei-shoto, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Niue, Northern Territory, Philippines, Phoenix Is., Pitcairn Is., Queensland, Samoa, Seychelles, Society Is., Solomon Is., South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tokelau-Manihiki, Tonga, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis-Futuna Is., Western Australia as per POWO)

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Gynochthodes ridsdalei Razafim. & B.Bremer ? (S. India as per WCSP)

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Gynochthodes umbellata (L.) Razafim. & B. Bremer (Andaman Is.; Assam; Bangladesh; Bismarck Archipelago; Borneo; China South-Central; China Southeast; Hainan; India; Japan; Jawa; Malaya; Marianas; Nansei-shoto; New Guinea; Philippines; Queensland; Samoa; Solomon Is.; Sri Lanka; Sumatera; Taiwan; Thailand; Vietnam as per Catalogue of Life)

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Hamelia patens Jacq. (Introduced)

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Himalrandia tetrasperma (Wall. ex Roxb.) T.Yamaz. (E. Afghanistan to Assam: Afghanistan, Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Nepal, Pakistan, West Himalaya as per POWO)

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Hydnophytum formicarum Jack (Indo-China to New Guinea (Waigeo Island): Andaman Is., Borneo, Cambodia, Jawa, Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, New Guinea, Philippines, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam as per POWO)

Hyptianthera stricta (Roxb. ex Schult.) Wight & Arn. (Assam; Bangladesh; China South-Central; East Himalaya; Myanmar; Nepal; Thailand; Tibet; Vietnam as per Catalogue of Life)

Kailarsenia lineata (Craib) Tirveng. (Cultivated)

Macrosphyra longistyla (DC.) Hiern (Cultivated) (W. Tropical Africa to SW. Ethiopia: Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Central African Repu, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Zaïre as per POWO)

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Meyna laxiflora Robyns (Indian Subcontinent to Indo-China: Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam as per POWO)

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Mitracarpus hirtus (L.) DC. (Alabama; Angola; Argentina Northeast; Argentina Northwest; Aruba; Assam; Bangladesh; Belize; Benin; Bolivia; Brazil North; Brazil Northeast; Brazil South; Brazil Southeast; Brazil West-Central; Burkina; Burundi; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Central African Repu; Chad; China South-Central; China Southeast; Colombia; Congo; Costa Rica; Cuba; East Himalaya; Ecuador; El Salvador; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Fiji; Florida; Gabon; Gambia; Georgia; Ghana; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Hainan; Haiti; Hawaii; Honduras; India; Ivory Coast; Jamaica; Kenya; Leeward Is.; Liberia; Louisiana; Madagascar; Malawi; Malaya; Mali; Marianas; Mauritania; Mexican Pacific Is.; Mexico Central; Mexico Gulf; Mexico Northeast; Mexico Northwest; Mexico Southeast; Mexico Southwest; Mississippi; Myanmar; Netherlands Antilles; New Guinea; Nicaragua; Niger; Nigeria; Panam; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Puerto Rico; Queensland; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Tanzania; Texas; Thailand; Togo; Trinidad-Tobago; Uganda; Uruguay; Venezuela; Venezuelan Antilles; Windward Is.; Zambia; Zare as per Catalogue of Life)

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Mitragyna diversifolia (Wall. ex G.Don) Havil. (Bangladesh to China (Yunnan) and Malesia as per POWO)

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Mitragyna parvifolia (Roxb.) Korth. (Indian Subcontinent to Indo-China: Andaman Is., Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicobar Is., Sri Lanka, West Himalaya as per POWO)

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Mitragyna rotundifolia (Roxb.) Kuntze (Darjiling to China (S. Yunnan) and Indo-China: Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, China South-Central, East Himalaya, Laos, Myanmar, Nicobar Is., Thailand, Vietnam as per POWO)

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Nauclea orientalis (L.) L. (Introduced) (Tropical Asia to N. Australia: Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Maluku, Myanmar, New Guinea, Northern Territory, Philippines, Queensland, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam as per POWO)

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Neohymenopogon parasiticus (Wall.) Bennet (Nepal to China (Yunnan): Assam, China South-Central, East Himalaya, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam as per POWO)

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Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb.) Bosser (S. China to Tropical Asia: Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam as per POWO)

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Neonauclea purpurea (Roxb.) Merr. (India, Indo-China: Cambodia, India, Vietnam as per POWO)

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Neurocalyx calycinus (R.Br. ex Benn.) Rob. (S. India, SW. Sri Lanka as per POWO)

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Nostolachma triflorum (Korth.) R.Kr.Singh (Indonesia and India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura) as per A New Combination and Lectotypification of Two Names in the Genus Nostolachma (Rubiaceae)– Rajeev Kumar Singh- J. Jpn. Bot. 92(5): 294–298 (2017))

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Ochreinauclea missionis (Wall. ex G.Don) Ridsdale (India (Kerala, Karnatica, Maharashtra) as per POWO)

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Oxyceros rugulosus (Thwaites) Tirveng. (SW. & S. India, Sri Lanka as per POWO)

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Paederia cruddasiana Prain (N. India to China (Yunnan): Assam, Bangladesh, China South-Central, East Himalaya, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam as per POWO)

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Paederia foetida L. (E. Nepal to Japan and Malesia: Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Hainan, India, Japan, Jawa, Korea, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nansei-shoto, Nepal, Nicobar Is., Ogasawara-shoto, Philippines, South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam; Introduced into: Bismarck Archipelago, Christmas I., Florida, Hawaii, Marianas, Mauritius, New Caledonia, North Carolina, Réunion as per POWO)

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Pentas lanceolata (Forssk.) Deflers (Introduced) (Ethiopia to Mozambique, Comoros, Arabian Peninsula: Bangladesh, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zaïre; Introduced into: Caroline Is., Colombia, Cook Is., Gilbert Is., Marianas, Marshall Is., Norfolk Is., Society Is., Trinidad-Tobago, Tubuai Is., Windward Is. as per POWO)

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Polyura geminata Hook. f. (Bhutan to Assam: Assam, East Himalaya as per POWO)

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Prismatomeris tetrandra (Roxb.) K.Schum. (Indian Subcontinent to S. China and Philippines: Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Hainan, India, Malaya, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam (from POWO))

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Pseudomussaenda flava Verdc. (Introduced) (Ethiopia; Kenya; Nigeria; Sudan; Trinidad-Tobago; Uganda; Zare as per Catalogue of life)

Psydrax dicoccos Gaertn. (S. China to Tropical Asia: Andaman Is., Bangladesh, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Myanmar, Nicobar Is., Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam as per POWO)
(Cymes compressed shortly peduncled)

Psydrax umbellatus (Wight) Bridson (India to Indo-China: Andaman Is., Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam as per POWO)
(Flowers umbellate on a short very stout compressed peduncle)

Richardia scabra L. (Introduced) (Tropical & Subtropical America: Alabama, Arkansas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Central American Pac, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Florida, French Guiana, Georgia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Louisiana, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Mississippi, Nicaragua, North Carolina, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, South Carolina, Texas, Venezuela, Virginia; Introduced: Angola, Assam, Bangladesh, Benin, China Southeast, Fiji, Hainan, Hawaii, India, Indiana, Jawa, KwaZulu-Natal, Malawi, Myanmar, Northern Provinces, Philippines, Puerto Rico, South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe as per POWO)
(Calyx lobes tringular as per Flora of Zimbabwe and POWO)

Rondeletia odorata Jacq. (Introduced) (Cuba; Introduced into: Panamá, Trinidad-Tobago as per POWO)

Rosenbergiodendron formosum (Jacq.) Fagerl. (Introduced) (Panama to Venezuela and Ecuador as per WCSP)

Saprosma foetens subsp. ceylanica (Gardner) M.Gangop. & Chakrab. (Sri Lanka as per POWO) (South India as per  IBIS Flora (FBI))

Saprosma glomerata (Gardner) Bedd. (W. & S. India, Sri Lanka as per POW)

Saprosma ternata (Wall.) Hook.f. (SW. India, Bhutan to China (Yunnan) and Peninsula Malaysia: Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, China South-Central, East Himalaya, Hainan, India, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam as per POWO)

Serissa japonica (Thunb.) Thunb. (Introduced)

Spermadictyon suaveolens Roxb. (Indian Subcontinent: Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Nepal, Pakistan, West Himalaya; Introduced into: Tibet as per POWO)

Tamilnadia uliginosa (Retz.) Tirveng. & Sastre (Indian Subcontinent to Indo-China: Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam as per POWO)

Tarenna asiatica (L.) Kuntze ex K.Schum. (India to Nansei-shoto and Borneo: Andaman Is., Bangladesh, Borneo, India, Laos, Nansei-shoto, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam as per POWO)

Timonius finlaysonianus (Wall. ex G.Don) Hook.f. (W. & Central Malesia: Borneo, Jawa, Malaya, Philippines, Sumatera as per POWO) & (Andaman & Nicobar Islands as per BSI Flora of India Checklist)

Uncaria laevigata Wall. ex G.Don (Assam to China (Yunnan, Guangxi) and Indo-China: Assam, Bangladesh, China South-Central, China Southeast, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam as per POWO)

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Uncaria scandens (Sm.) Hutch. (Assam; Bangladesh; China South-Central; China Southeast; East Himalaya; Hainan; Laos; Myanmar; Nepal; Thailand; Tibet; Vietnam; West Himalaya as per Catalogue of Life)

 

Vangueria madagascariensis J.F.Gmel. (Introduced) (Tropical & S. Africa, Comoros, Madagascar: Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Repu, Chad, Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaïre; Introduced into: Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, India, Leeward Is., Marquesas, New Caledonia, Puerto Rico, Queensland, Seychelles, Trinidad-Tobago as per POWO)

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Rubiaceae member- Imphal, Manipur

  

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Rubiaceae member?- Meghalaya

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Wikipedia

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Flowering Plant Families, UH Botany

Very clear concise description of the family Rubiaceae.
As said above
Latin word Ruber means red. The name of the family comes from the genus Rubia (Madder)
Red dye is obtained from the roots of it.

Attaching a link of my blog written 3 years back.

FAMILY OF THE WEEK: RUBIACEAE

Rubiaceae is a large family. In India there are about 76 genera and 274 species occurring chiefly in the tropical and subtropical Eastern Himalayas extending up to 4600 meters and mountains of southern and Western India.

Vegetative characters:

The habit is chiefly woody and the family consists of mostly trees and shrubs.

The leaves are opposite decussate or sometimes whorled, simple entire and stipulate. The stipules show much variation in the form. They are frequently interpetiolar or intra petiolar. The stipules are often united. Sometimes as in Gardenia the four stipules are united into a conical cap which is thrown off as the bud opens. The bases of stipules are often glandular.

Inflorescence and flowers:

The inflorescence is basically a dichasial cyme and sometimes the small flowered cymes are aggregated into dense head as in Anthocephalus and Adina. In Morinda even the ovaries of the flowers in the head become fused. Rarely the flowers are solitary as in Gardenia and in Coffee one to three flowers stand in the axil of a leaf.

The flowers are actinomorphic or rarely slightly zygomorphic, bisexual tetra or pentamerous and epigynous.

The calyx is four or five lobed and the lobes are valvate. Sometimes as in Mussaenda one of the sepals in one or more flowers of an inflorescence becomes brightly coloured. The corolla is four or five fused petals and is salverform, rotate or funneliform. The petal lobes are valvate, twisted or imbricate in bud. The stamens are as many as the number of petals and they alternate with them. The anthers are dithecous introrse and opening lengthwise. The gynoecium is usually bicarpellary and syncarpous. The ovary is inferior and bilocular with axile placentation. The style is simple and the stigma is capitates or bilobed.

Fruits and the seeds: The fruit is usually a septicidal or loculicidal capsule. Sometimes it is a berry(Coffee) or schizocarpic, separating into one seeded segments (Galium)

Pollination and dispersal:

The pollination is brought about by insects. Sticky fruits and persistent calyx limbs often favour their distribution by birds and animals. Sometimes the seeds are winged and are dispersed by wind.

Examples:

Coffee
Cinchona
Ixora coccinea
Gardenia
Mussaenda
Anthocaphalus cadamba (Kadamb)
Mitragyna parviflora (Kalam, Laghukadamb)
Adina cordifolia
Randia spinosa
Morinda
Pavetta crassicaulis

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Rubiaceae (Species, genus & family pages )- now with comparative images:
Species, genus & family pages of‎‎‎‎ Rubiaceae are now with comparative images. On clicking the link of species, one can check the complete details. Genus pages generally give details of most of the species found in India.
May I request you to pl. go through & point out mistakes, if any. I hope this will aid in identification in future. If anybody can send images of other species of this family (for incorporation in the website), if any, or can identify unidentified/ wrongly identified images, it will be really nice. Pl. circulate it widely, for the benefit of all concerned.