Caprifoliaceae

Caprifoliaceae

[‚kap·rə‚fōl·ē′ās·e‚ē]

(botany)

A family of dicotyledonous, mostly woody plants in the order Dipsacales, including elderberry and honeysuckle; characterized by distinct filaments and anthers, typically five stamens and five corolla lobes, more than one ovule per locule, and well-developed endosperm.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Caprifoliaceae

 

a family of dicotyledonous plants. They are shrubs (occasionally vines), more rarely small trees, semishrubs, or herbs. The leaves are usually opposite, sometimes grown together at the bases. The flowers are usually bisexual, either regular or, more frequently, more or less irregular, in cymose inflorescences that are occasionally reduced to a single blossom. The calyx and corolla are pentamerous. There are generally five stamens, but at times fewer. As a rule, the ovary is inferior. The fruit is drupaceous or berry-like, more rarely a capsule. There are 15 or 16 genera (about 400 species), largely in temperate zones of the northern hemisphere. In the USSR there are seven genera (more than 75 species); the most common are Lonicera, Sambucus, Viburnum, Abelia, Symphoricarpos, Weigela, and Diervilla. Many Caprifoliaceae are valuable decorative plants, and some are utilized in medicine.

REFERENCES

[Poiarkova, A. I.] “Zhimolostnye—Caprifoliaceae Vent.”In Flora SSSR, vol. 23. Moscow-Leningrad, 1958.
Derev’ia i kustarniki SSSR, vol. 6. Moscow-Leningrad, 1962.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.