psychotrieæ

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. A large tribe of plants of the order Rubiaceæ, the madder family. It is characterized by an ovary with two or many cells, each with a single basilar erect anatropous ovule and inferior radicle; a valvate corolla bearing the stamens on its throat; a stigma entire or nearly so; and an indehiscent fruit, commonly with two nutlets, corneous albumen, and curved embryo. It includes about 1,084 species of 32 genera, mostly tropical trees or shrubs. Psychotria (the type) with 425 species, Palicourea with 135, Rudgea with 92, and Uragoga (Cephaëlis) with 120, are large genera mainly of America, and Lasianthus with 80 species is principally Asiatic.