The Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family is a clade of dicotyledonous

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s consisting of about 860

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, in 33, to 42 genera, with a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. Centres of diversity are found in eastern North America and eastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, while they are absent in tropical and southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Description

The flowering plants in this clade are mostly shrubs and

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

s: rarely herbs. They include some ornamental garden plants grown in

temperate regions In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

. The leaves are mostly opposite with no stipules (appendages at the base of a leafstalk or petiole), and may be either

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are tubular funnel-shaped or bell-like, usually with five outward spreading lobes or points, and are often fragrant. They usually form a small calyx with small

bracts In botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the An ...

. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is in most cases a berry or a drupe. The genera ''Diervilla'' and ''Weigela'' have capsular fruit, while ''Heptacodium'' has an achene.

Taxonomy

Views of the family-level classification of the traditionally accepted Caprifoliaceae and other plants in the botanical order

Dipsacales The Dipsacales are an order of flowering plants, included within the asterid group of dicotyledons. In the APG III system of 2009, the order includes only two families, Adoxaceae and a broadly defined Caprifoliaceae. Some well-known members of th ...

have been considerably revised in recent decades. Most botanists now accept the placement of two of the most familiar members of this group, the elderberries (''

Sambucus ''Sambucus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly called elder or elderberry. The genus was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified as Adoxaceae due to ge ...

'') and the viburnums ('' Viburnum''), in the family

Adoxaceae Adoxaceae, commonly known as moschatel family, is a small family of flowering plants in the order Dipsacales, now consisting of five genera and about 150–200 species. They are characterised by opposite toothed leaves, small five- or, more rare ...

instead; these were formerly classified here. Several other families of the more broadly treated Caprifoliaceae ''s.l.'' are separated by some but not all authors; these are treated as subfamilies in the listing of selected genera below, along with estimated numbers of species. EB1911_Caprifoliaceae_-_Flowering_shoot_of_Lonicera_Caprifolium

EB1911_Caprifoliaceae_-_Flowering_shoot_of_Lonicera_Caprifolium

Diervilloideae *'' Diervilla'' (bush honeysuckle): 3 species *''

Weigela ''Weigela'' is a genus of between six and 38 speciesAll of the species listed in the 'Selected species' section are accepted by The Plant List, but most are still under review, and therefore subject to changes in status. of deciduous shrubs in ...

'': 10 species. Caprifolioideae ''s.s.'' *''

Heptacodium ''Heptacodium miconioides'', the seven-son flower, is a species of flowering plant. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus ''Heptacodium'', of the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. The common name "seven-son flower" is a direct translatio ...

'' (seven-son flower): 1 species *'' Leycesteria'': 6 species *''

Lonicera Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both contin ...

'' (honeysuckle): 180 species *'' Symphoricarpos'' (snowberry): 17 species *''

Triosteum ''Triosteum'', commonly known in American English as horse-gentian or, less commonly, feverwort, and, in Standard Chinese as (), is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Caprifoliaceae. A genus of six species in total, it has thr ...

'' (horsegentian): 6 species Linnaeoideae *''

Abelia ''Abelia'' is a previously recognized genus that contained about 30 species and hybrids, placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. Molecular phylogenetic studies showed that the genus was not monophyletic, and in 2013, Maarten Christen ...

'': 30 species *'' Dipelta'': 4 species *'' Kolkwitzia'' (beautybush): 1 species *'' Linnaea'' (twinflower): 1 species Morinoideae *''

Acanthocalyx ''Acanthocalyx'' is a genus of about three species of plants in the family Caprifoliaceae, sometimes included in Morinaceae Morinoideae is a subfamily of plants in the family Caprifoliaceae, order Dipsacales. It was at one time recognized as t ...

'': 3 species *'' Cryptothladia '' *''

Morina ''Morina'' is a genus of the angiosperm family Caprifoliaceae. It is unofficially the provincial flower of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none) ...

'' *'' Zabelia'' Dipsacoideae *''

Bassecoia ''Bassecoia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Caprifoliaceae. It is also in the subfamily of Dipsacoideae. Its native range is Nepal to Southern Central China and Northern Indo-China Mainland Southeast Asia, also kn ...

'' *'' Cephalaria'' *''

Dipsacus ''Dipsacus'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. The members of this genus are known as teasel, teazel or teazle. The genus includes about 15 species of tall herbaceous biennial plants (rarely short-lived perennial plants ...

'' (teasel): 15 species *''

Knautia ''Knautia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caprifoliaceae The Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family is a clade of dicotyledonous flowering plants consisting of about 860 species, in 33, to 42 genera, with a nearly cosmopolitan ...

'' *'' Lomelosia'': 63 species *'' Pterocephalus'': 25 species *''

Scabiosa ''Scabiosa'' is a genus in the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae) of flowering plants. Many of the species in this genus have common names that include the word scabious, but some plants commonly known as scabious are currently classified in r ...

'' (scabious, pincushion flower): 30 species *'' Succisa'' *'' Succisella'' *'' Triplostegia'' Valerianoideae *''

Centranthus ''Centranthus'' is a flowering plant genus comprising herbs and subshrubs native to Southern Europe. It is in the family Caprifoliaceae. There are about twelve species in the genus. Some ''Centranthus'' are known as introduced species in other p ...

'': 12 species *'' Fedia'' *'' Nardostachys '': 3 species *'' Patrinia'': 17 species *'' Plectritis'' (seablushes): 5 species *'' Valeriana'' (valerians): 125 species *'' Valerianella'' (cornsalads): 20 species

Uses

The plants belonging to this family are mainly hardy shrubs or vines of ornamental value, many of which are popular garden shrubs, notably species belonging to the genera ''

'', ''

'', and ''

''. A few, however, have become

invasive weeds An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

outside their native ranges (such as ''

Lonicera japonica ''Lonicera japonica'', known as Japanese honeysuckle and golden-and-silver honeysuckle, is a species of honeysuckle native to eastern Asia. It is often grown as an ornamental plant, but has become an invasive species in a number of countries. Jap ...

'').

References

Other sources

*Flowering Plants of the World, 1987, Vernon H. Heywood, Andromeda Oxford Ltd., *Botanica, Gordon Cheers, Random House Australia,

External links

Caprifoliaceae in Topwalks
{{Taxonbar, from=Q156301 Asterid families