Rubia

"Madder" redirects here. For other uses, see Madder (disambiguation).

Rubia
Rubia tinctorum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Rubiaceae
Subfamily:	Rubioideae
Tribe:	Rubieae
Genus:	Rubia L.
Type species
Rubia tinctorum L.

Rubia is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. It contains around 80 species of perennial scrambling or climbing herbs and subshrubs native to the Old World. The genus and its best-known species are commonly known as madder, e.g. Rubia tinctorum (common madder), Rubia peregrina (wild madder), and Rubia cordifolia (Indian madder).

Uses

Rubia was an economically important source of a red pigment in many regions of Asia, Europe and Africa. Several species, such as Rubia tinctorum in Europe, Rubia cordifolia in India, and, Rubia argyi in east Asia, were extensively cultivated from antiquity until the mid nineteenth century. The genus name Rubia derives from the Latin ruber meaning "red".

The plant's roots contain an organic compound called Alizarin, that gives its red colour to a textile dye known as Rose madder. It was also used as a colourant, especially for paint, that is referred to as Madder lake. The invention of a synthesized duplicate, an anthracene compound called alizarin, greatly reduced demand for the natural derivative.

Species

• Rubia agostinhoi Dans. & P.Silva
• Rubia aitchisonii Deb & Malick
• Rubia alaica Pachom.
• Rubia alata Wall.
• Rubia albicaulis Boiss.
• Rubia angustisissima Wall. ex G.Don
• Rubia argyi (H.Lév. & Vaniot) Hara ex Lauener
• Rubia atropurpurea Decne.
• Rubia balearica (Willk.) Porta
• Rubia caramanica Bornm.
• Rubia charifolia Wall. ex G.Don
• Rubia chinensis Regel & Maack
• Rubia chitralensis Ehrend.
• Rubia clematidifolia Blume ex Decne.
• Rubia cordifolia L.
• Rubia crassipes Collett & Hemsl.
• Rubia cretacea Pojark.
• Rubia danaensis Danin
• Rubia davisiana Ehrend.
• Rubia deserticola Pojark.
• Rubia discolor Turcz.
• Rubia dolichophylla Schrenk
• Rubia edgeworthii Hook.f.
• Rubia falciformis H.S.Lo
• Rubia filiformis F.C.How ex H.S.Lo
• Rubia florida Boiss.
• Rubia fruticosa Aiton
• Rubia garrettii Craib
• Rubia gedrosiaca Bornm.
• Rubia haematantha Ary Shaw
• Rubia hexaphylla (Makino) Makino
• Rubia himalayensis Klotzsch
• Rubia hispidicaulis D.G.Long
• Rubia horrida (Thunb.) Puff
• Rubia infundibularis Hemsl. & Lace
• Rubia jesoensis (Miq.) Miyabe & Kudo
• Rubia komarovii Pojark.
• Rubia krascheninnikovii Pojark.
• Rubia laevissima Tschern.
• Rubia latipetala H.S.Lo
• Rubia laurae (Holmboe) Airy Shaw
• Rubia laxiflora Gontsch.
• Rubia linii J.M.Chao
• Rubia magna P.G.Xiao
• Rubia mandersii Collett & Hemsl.
• Rubia manjith Roxb. ex Fleming
• Rubia maymanensis Ehrend. & Schönb.-Tem.
• Rubia membranacea Diels
• Rubia oncotricha Hand.-Mazz.
• Rubia oppositifolia Griff.
• Rubia ovatifolia Z.Ying Zhang ex Q.Lin
• Rubia pallida Diels
• Rubia pauciflora Boiss.
• Rubia pavlovii Bajtenov & Myrz.
• Rubia peregrina L.
• Rubia petiolaris DC.
• Rubia philippinensis Elmer
• Rubia podantha Diels
• Rubia polyphlebia H.S.Lo
• Rubia pterygocaulis H.S.Lo
• Rubia rechingeri Ehrend.
• Rubia regelii Pojark.
• Rubia rezniczenkoana Litv.
• Rubia rigidifolia Pojark.
• Rubia rotundifolia Banks & Sol.
• Rubia salicifolia H.S.Lo
• Rubia schugnanica B.Fedtsch. ex Pojark.
• Rubia schumanniana E.Pritz.
• Rubia siamensis Craib
• Rubia sikkimensis Kurz
• Rubia sylvatica (Maxim.) Nakai
• Rubia tatarica (Trevir.) F.Schmidt
• Rubia tenuifolia d'Urv.
• Rubia tenuissima ined.
• Rubia thunbergii DC.
• Rubia tibetica Hook.f.
• Rubia tinctorum L.
• Rubia transcaucasica Grossh.
• Rubia trichocarpa H.S.Lo
• Rubia truppeliana Loes.
• Rubia wallichiana Decne.
• Rubia yunnanensis Diels

External links

• Rubia in the World Checklist of Rubiaceae