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The Family Fabaceae (also as Family Leguminosae) is a grouping of plants in the Order Fabales, and one of the largest families of flowering plants with 650 genera and over 18,000 species. These plants are commonly called legumes and the family contains some of our most valuable food crops, such as beans, peas, peanuts, soybeanSoybeans ( US) or soya beans ( UK) Glycine max are a high- protein legume (Family Fabaceae) grown as food for both humans and livestock. The word soy comes from Japanese shoyu. Soybeans may be boiled whole (in the green pod) and served with salt, often uns, and lentilLentils Lens culinaris Fabaceae) are lens-shaped pulses that grow on an annual, bushlike plant. They have a short cooking time and a distinctive earthy flavor. A variety of lentils exist with colors that range from yellow to red-orange to green, brown ors. Other members of the family are important sources of animal feed or green manure, such as lupinover 150 recognised species, including: Lupinus albus Lupinus angustifolius Lupinus arboreus Lupinus leteus Lupinus nootkatensis Lupinus polyphyllus Lupinus x regalis Lupinus texensis Lupin often spelled lupine in the US, is the common name for members ofs, cloverFor the town Clover South Carolina, USA see Clover, South Carolina. In botany, clover is a plant of the genus Trifolium from the Latin. tres three, and folium a leaf, so called from the characteristic form of the leaf, which has three leaflets (trifoliate, alfalfaMedicago arabica Medicago heldreichii Medicago hybrida Medicago laciniata Medicago littoralis Medicago lupulina Medicago minima Medicago monantha Medicago monspeliaca Medicago orbicularis Medicago polymorpha Medicago praecox Medicago rigidula Medicago rug, and soybean. Some genera such as LaburnumLaburnum anagyroides ''Laburnum alpinum Ref: Laburnum is a genus of two species of small trees in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, Laburnum anagyroides Common Laburnum and L. alpinum Alpine Laburnum , native to the mountains of southern, RobiniaRobinia hispida ''Robinia neomexicana Robinia pseudoacacia Black locust Ref: Robinia is a genus of locust trees in the Fabaceae family, subfamily Faboideae, named after the French gardener Jean Robin, who introduced the plant in Europe in 1601., GleditsiaSee text Gleditsia is a genus of locust trees in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae, native to North America and Asia. This genus is related to the Acacias of tropical Africa. There are 13 species: Gleditsia amorphoides (Griseb. Taubert Gledi, Acacia, Mimosa, and Delonix are ornamental trees and shrubs. Still other members of the family have medicinal or insecticidal properties (for instance Derris ) or yield important substances like gum arabic, tannin, dyes, or resins. Then there is kudzu, an east Asian species originally planted in the U.S. southeast for soil improvement and as a cattle feed, that has become a notorious invasive weed that tends to grow over everything.
All members of this family have five-petaled flowers in which the superior ovary ripens to form a "pod", technically called a legume, whose two sides split apart, releasing the seeds which are attached to one or both seams. The legumous plants are classified into three subfamilies, sometimes raised to the rank of family in the order Fabales, on the basis of flower morphology (specifically, petal shape):
- Faboideae (Fabaceae), previously called Papilionoideae: One petal is large and has a crease in it, the two adjacent petals are on the sides, and the two bottom petals are joined together at the bottom, forming a boat-like structure.
- Caesalpinioideae (Caesalpiniaceae): The flowers are zygomorphic , but are very variable, e.g. closely resembling Faboideae flowers in Cercis, while symmetrical with five equal petals in Bauhinia.
- Mimosoideae (Mimosaceae): The petals are small, and are frequently globose or spicate and the stamens are the most showy part of the flower.
