Bixaceae

plant family

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Last updated

June 22, 2026

Quick Summary

The Bixaceae is a family of tropical shrubs and trees. This family is characterized by alternate leaves, perfect flowers, a superior ovary, and valvate capsules. The only species in this family is Bixa orellana, also known as annatto. This tree, native to the New World tropics, grows up to 30 feet tall and has rose-pink flowers and ovate leaves. The fruits of the annatto tree yield a powder used as a dye for butter, cheese, and margarine, and the plant is cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. The Bixaceae family is part of the Buxales order, which includes other genera like Buxus (boxwood) and Sarcococca (sweet box).123

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Malvales
Bixaceae
Cochlospermaceae (with genera Cochlospermum and Amoreuxia) and Diegodendraceae (with genus Diegodendron) are former families that are now included in Bixaceae (which used to include only one genus, Bixa). The plants in Bixaceae have fibrous bark, canals containing exudate, branches that end at the inflorescence,…
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Cochlospermaceae (with genera Cochlospermum and Amoreuxia) and Diegodendraceae (with genus Diegodendron) are former families that are now included in Bixaceae (which used to include only one genus, Bixa). The plants in Bixaceae have fibrous bark, canals containing exudate, branches that end at the inflorescence,…
Read More