What is "madder family"

madder family \madder family\ n. A widely distributed natural family of mostly tropical trees and shrubs and herbs including coffee; chinchona; gardenia; madder; bedstraws; nd partridgeberry.

Syn: Rubiaceae, family Rubiaceae, madder family

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: Rubiaceae, family Rubiaceae]