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Glite Dictionary
Melastomaceae

Melastomaceae

9.9
A group of flowering plants from tropical and warm places, often trees or shrubs, grown for their pretty flowers
  • noun
  • /ˌmɛləˈstoʊməˌsiː/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Melastomaceae
  • Many species of Melastomaceae are prized for their beautiful flowers in tropical gardens.

Examples

  • The Melastomaceae family includes several ornamental plants that attract butterflies.

  • Zone IV (915-1,525 meters) is fairly wet but more temperate subtropical forest, the dominant vegetation including mountain black plum, various Melastomaceae, and Lauraceae.

    Academic text (1993)

  • In the rainforest, you can find a variety of Melastomaceae that thrive in humid conditions.

Synonyms

meadow-beauty family
vsMelastomaceae
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of plants with bright flowers that includes trees, shrubs, and garden herbs

is the scientific family name rather than the common form

Surface Forms

Melastomaceae singular
Melastomaceas plural
Melastomaceas singular

Morphology

Melastomaceae = Melastoma (opaque) = Melastoma + aceae

The form is a technical botanical family name formed from a genus name plus the Latin family suffix '-aceae', which is specialized and not obvious to general learners.

Etymology

Melastomaceae comes from the Greek roots melas 'black' and stoma 'mouth', a name given because some of these plants have small dark, mouth-like openings on their flowers or seed pods. So the name points to those dark 'mouths' and is now used for this family of tropical and ornamental plants.