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Fabaceae
Bean or Pea Family
Class: Magnoliopsida
Sub-Class: Rosidae
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamilies: 1. Papilionoideae
2. Caesalpinoideae
3. Mimosoideae
Genera: about 400
Species: about 10,000
Habit: Trees, Shrubs, Herbs
Self supporting, epiphytic, or climbing
Helophytic, mesophytic, or xerophytic
Flowers: Bisexual, _______________________________________, perigynous
What does perigynous
mean?____________________________________________________
Inflorescence: may be raceme, spike, or head
Floral Formula: CA5COZ5A10or9+1 or 10G1
Calyx: 5 sepals united below tube
Corolla: 5 petals (1 standard, 2 wing, 2 keel fused in)
Gynoecium: One simple pistil (________________________________________) ovary
superior, marginal placentation.
Androecium: 10 stamens, ___________________________________(A10) or
_______________________________________(A9+1)
Leaves: Compound (pinnate or palmate) rarely simple, alternate
-stipules may be modified into tendrils
-pulvinus______________________________________
Roots: nodules and nitrogen fixing bacteria
Fruit: Simple, Capsule: dehiscent legume or a loment
Seed: May have food reserves in the cotyledons
Ethnobotany of Selected Genera
1) CAROB Ceratonia siliqua
-cultivated for its fruit and seeds both high in sugar and calcium, low in protein and fats
-used in “health foods” as a chocolate substitute and in livestock feeds
-gum is extracted from the ground endosperm and used in many food products, in the
manufacture of paper, in cosmetics, and drugs
2) ALFALFA Medicago sativa
-claimed to have the highest feeding value of all commonly grown hay crops, producing
more protein per hectare than any other crop for livestock
-valued as a honey plant
-powdered alfalfa is used as a diluent to adjust strength of digitalis powder
3) MILK VETCH Astragalus gummifer
- Tragacanth gum is one of the oldest known emulsifiers known to man
- aprodesiac qualities ascribed to the gum
4) PEANUT Arachis hypogaea
-peanut is known world wide as a ground nut, and to a lesser extent, as an earth nut,
monkey nut, and a goober
- George Washington Carver used peanuts in mayonnaise
-may be used as a meat or dairy extender
5) BLUE LUPINE Lupinus angustifolius
- used as forage and silage and for late winter and early spring grazing
- poisonous, especially to sheep
- in India, it is planted as green manure between successive crops of potatoes
6) BEAN or COMMON BEAN Phaseolus vulgaris
- native to the New World, probably Central Mexico and Guatemala
- beans are said to be used for acne, diarrhea, hiccups, and rheumatism
7) SOYBEAN Glycine max
- soymilk is ideal for diabetics because there is little or no carbohydrate content
- Oligosaccharides are responsible for flatulence, but if extracted with ethanol, flatus
potential is lowered
8) CHICKPEA Cicer arientinum
- valued for its nutritive seeds with protein content of 14-30%
- Dahl is the split chickpea with out its seedcoat, fried, and cooked into a thick soup or
ground into flour for snacks and sweetmeats
- may be used medicinally for bronchitis, cholera, constipation, flatulence, snakebite, and
warts
* In the sixteenth century, chickpeas were believed to be aphrodisiac. Lentils were
considered to have the opposite effect, and this was probably the reason why the lentil
was included in the diet in monasteries on meatless days.
9) COMMON OR GARDEN PEA Pisum sativum
- pisum oil from the ripened seed has antisex harmonic effects; produced sterility and
antagonizes effect of male hormone
10) LENTIL Lens culinaris
- lentil is cultivated for its nutritive seed, eaten as dahl and considered the most nutritious
of pulses
- in India, lentils are poulticed onto the ulcers that follow smallpox and other slowhealing sores
11) SWEET PEA Lathyrus odoratus
- most noted for use as an ornamental garden plant
12) BUTTERFLY PEA Clitoria ternata
-roots may promote nausea and vomiting and many consider them unsafe for medicine
- roots and flowers mixed with root-bark or indrani (Vitex negundo) given internally for
snake-bite, especially cobra bite.