madder family: Meaning and Definition of

mad'der fam"ily

1. 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.