Bruniaceae

{{Short description|Family of flowering plants comprising South African heath-like shrubs}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image = Berzelia lanuginosa 2.jpg

|image_caption = Berzelia lanuginosa

|taxon = Bruniaceae

|authority = R.Br. ex DC.{{Cite journal |last=Angiosperm Phylogeny Group |year=2009 |title=An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=161 |issue=2 |pages=105–121 |doi=10.1046/j.1095-8339.2003.t01-1-00158.x|doi-access=}}

|subdivision_ranks = Genera

|subdivision = See text

}}

Bruniaceae is a family of shrubs native to the cape region of South Africa. They are mostly restricted to the Cape Province, but a small number of species occur in KwaZulu-Natal.{{Cite web | url=http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/orders/asteralesweb.htm#Bruniaceae | title=Asterales}}

==Description==

Species belonging to the Bruniaceae are heath-like shrubs. They have small, hard, scaly leaves that are alternate but regularly set and overlapping. A distinct character is the minute black tip of the leaves when these are young. The inflorescence is a dense spike or spherical flowerhead with up to 400 flowers at the end of the stems. Individual flowers are tube-shaped and hermaphrodite, there are five sepals which may be free or connected at their rim, while the ovary sits under the other parts of the flower. The fruit is dry when ripe, opens with two or four valves and contains fleshy seeds.{{cite web|website= Guide to Plant Families of southern Africa|author1=M. Koekemoer, H.M. Steyn |author2=S.P. Bester |name-list-style=amp |title= Bruniaceae|url= http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/South_African_Plant_Families/key/South%20African%20Plant%20Families/Media/Html/Bruniaceae.htm|access-date= 2016-03-01}}