Families

Berberidaceae

This barberry family of the buttercup order (Ranunculales) comprises of 13-16 genera and 550-600 species of perennial herbs and shrubs. Its members occur in most temperate regions of the world. In the shrubs the leaves are alternate and spiny-margined. The form of the flower is highly variable.   

Betulaceae

The Betulaceae is a family of trees and shrubs which includes 6 genera and some 170 species.  The leaves are simple, alternate, deciduous and with stipules.  The flowers are bisexual with both sexes on the same plant.  The fruit is a single seeded nut which is often winged for wind dispersal, maturing in late summer or autumn.  The seeds have no endosperm and a straight embryo.

Bignoniaceae

The trumpet creeper or catalpa family of the figwort order of flowering plants (Scrophulariales). It contains about 120 genera and more than 650 species of trees, shrubs, and, most commonly, vines. They form an important part of the tropical forest vegetation because of the numerous climbing vines. The family is characterized by oppositely paired, usually compound leaves and bell- or funnel-shaped, bisexual flowers having a five-lobed calyx and corolla; two long and two short stamens arising from the corolla tube; and a pistil positioned above the attachment point of the other flower parts, on a disk, and consisting of two fused, ovule-bearing carpels enclosing two, or rarely one, chambers that contain many ovules attached along the central axis. The seeds are usually flat and winged.

Bixaceae

Bixaceae is a family consisting of a single tropical genus (Bixa) of shrubs and small trees.  The leaves are alternate, simple, entire, palmately nerved and with stipules.  Both leaves and saps contain reddish sap.  The flowers are regular, bisexual and borne in showy, paniculate inflorescences.  The fruit dehisces along the two valves of the capsule and is often covered with hairs or stout prickles. The seed contain a large embryo surrounded by copious starchy endosperm.

Bombacaceae

The bombax or kapok family of tropical flowering trees and shrubs, in the mallow order (Malvales), comprised of about 20 genera and 180 species. Many species are deciduous and their entire, palmate or digitate leaves and stipules are shed at the end of each rainy season.  The white or brightly coloured flowers are bisexual and frequently emerge from the branches and trunks and even near the base.  The fruit is a capsule containing smooth seeds which have little or no endosperm.

Boraginaceae

This family of annual plants, composed of approximately 150 genera and about 2000 species, chiefly of herbs but also including some trees and shrubs, characterized by hairy foliage. Members of the borage family are found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate areas.  The leaves are usually alternate and simple; flowers are funnel-shaped or tubular and flaring, with five lobes, often nodding or in coiled sprays. The flowers are frequently distinguished for their bright blues, which sometimes show a shading of red. The fruit consists of four (rarely two) nutlets or is a drupe.  The seeds are with or without endosperm and with a curved or straight embryo.

Burseraceae

This family of tropical trees and shrubs in the order Sapindales, composed of about 17 genera and 500 species.  All part of the plants especially the bark; contain resin 16 genera of resinous trees and shrubs. Members of the family have leaves that alternate along the stem and are composed of many leaflets, solitary or clustered flowers, and fleshy fruits.