Caprifoliaceae

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family of flowering plants known commonly as honeysuckles, typically characterized by climbing or shrubby forms and often fragrant flowers
2. They are known to have opposite leaves and tube-shaped blossoms that attract various pollinators
3. This group encompasses a variety of species, some of which produce edible berries and have ornamental value in gardens

Etymology: Caprifoliaceae is a botanical family name, and its history is a plain one: it is a Latinised formal name built from the genus "Caprifolium," a name for honeysuckle, combined with the standard plant-family ending "-aceae." "Caprifolium" itself is Latin, from "caper" (goat) and "folium" (leaf), a name that refers to the way the climbing stems seem to wind around the leaves, or to an old idea that goats browsed the plant. The literal sense, "goat-leaf," is a translation-based coinage that traces back to classical Latin naturalists. The family name was formalised in the nineteenth century, when botanists began standardising plant families under names ending in "-aceae" based on a type genus. Caprifoliaceae takes its name from the genus Caprifolium, which is the type genus for the family. Its place within the plant kingdom has been revised several times as botanists have reclassified genera such as Valeriana and Sambucus, and some of these have since been moved into separate families.

Synonyms: honeysuckle family