FABACEAE (Leguminosae) - Bean or Pea Family
Trees, shrubs, or herbs
Leaves pinnate, palmate,
or trifoliate
Flowers bisexual, zygomorphic,
wings in front of standard
Fruit a legume,
rarely a loment
Seed with food reserves in
cotyledons
400 genera, 10,000 species, worldwide
This is a very large diverse family that is divided into over 30
groups
Economic importance - the Fabaceae is the second most important
family after the Poaceae (Grass family). The seeds are generally
large and have high nutritional value due to large amounts of protein
and oil. Most of the economically important plants in this family are
herbs and are grown for their grain while others are grown for forage
and hay. There are also a number of species used as ornamentals in
the Fabaceae. Some of the economically important plants are listed
below:
Glycine - soybean (oil and protein)
Vigna - cowpea, broad bean
Pisum - pea
Medicago - alfalfa (hay)
Trifolium - clover (forage)
Arachis - peanuts (fruits mature underground)
Medicinal uses - Members of the Fabaceae have had a wide range of
uses but many of them are also toxic. Rodent poisons that prevent
blood clotting are derived from coumarins that occur naturally in the
Fabaceae. The insecticide rotenone occurs naturally in the genus
Tephrosia..
Diagnostic characteristics - leaves compound, fruit a legume,
corolla zygomorphic, wings in front of standard.