Fabaceae

Genera : 440 +/- Species: 12,000   Distribution: Cosmopolitan and world wide.           Economic Uses: Highly important agriculturally as peanut, lentil, licorice, chick pea, common pea and soybean. Also for livestock as alfalfa and clovers. Many ornamental garden species.

To Genus Directories:   Amorpha canescens Apios Astragalus hyalinus Baptisia Brownea Calliandra Caragana Cassia Castanospermum Chamaecytisus Cladrastis Clianthus Clitoria Colutea Coronilla varia Cytisus Desmodium Erythrina Glycine Hippocrepis Indigofera Laburnum Lathyrus Lespedeza Lotus Lupinus Melilotus Medicago Oxytropis Petalostemon Phaseolus Pithecellobium Psoralea Pueraria Robinia Sesbania Sophora Tephrosia Thermopsis montana Trifolium Vicia villosa Wistera To Dendrology Directories: Robinia

Defining Features of Interest: The family has a characteristically unique floral structure consisting of the banner or standard, wings and keel. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are commonly associated with the root nodules. Sometimes the family includes the Caesalpinaceae and the Mimosaceae as subfamilies.

Fossil Evidence: Fossil pollen in the Miocene.

Defining Morphology

Floral Features : Strongly zygomorphic and perfect. Inflorescence as a head, raceme or spike. Perigynous. Corolla as uppermost petals fused to form the standard or banner, the lateral petals as wings and the lower petals fused into a keel and enclosing the A and G.

Fruit and Seed Features : Fruit a legume, either dry or fleshy or a loment. Seed with a hard coat and few to many. Endosperm minimal or lacking. Placentation is marginal.

Vegetative Features : Habit as herbs, shrubs, trees or lianas. Bipinnate to pinnately or palmately compound and alternate (rarely opposite). Sometimes as tendrils. Stipules are present.