Fabaceae

This article is about Fabaceae s.l. (or Leguminosae), as defined by the APG System. For Fabaceae s.s. (or Papilionaceae), as defined by less modern systems, see Faboideae.
Not to be confused with Fagaceae.

Fabaceae
Temporal range: Paleocene–recent[1]
Kudzu (Pueraria lobata)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Lindl.[2] (Leguminosae Jussieu, nom. cons.).[3]
Type genus
Faba (now included in Vicia)
Mill.
Subfamilies[4]
Diversity
730 genera and 19,400 species
The biomes occupied by Fabaceae
Fabaceae distribution map. Legumes are found in four major biomes: tropical forest, temperate, grass, and succulent.[5]
Synonyms

The Fabaceae (/fəˈbeɪsi.iː, -ˌaɪ/) or Leguminosae,[6] commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, are a large and agriculturally important family of flowering plants. It includes trees, shrubs, and perennial or annual herbaceous plants, which are easily recognized by their fruit (legume) and their compound, stipulate leaves. The family is widely distributed, and is the third-largest land plant family in number of species, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with about 765 genera and nearly 20,000 known species.[7][8][9][10]

The five largest genera of the family are Astragalus (over 3,000 species), Acacia (over 1,000 species), Indigofera (around 700 species), Crotalaria (around 700 species), and Mimosa (around 400 species), which constitute about a quarter of all legume species. The c. 19,000 known legume species amount to about 7% of flowering plant species.[9][11] Fabaceae is the most common family found in tropical rainforests and dry forests of the Americas and Africa.[12]

Recent molecular and morphological evidence supports the fact that the Fabaceae is a single monophyletic family.[13] This conclusion has been supported not only by the degree of interrelation shown by different groups within the family compared with that found among the Leguminosae and their closest relations, but also by all the recent phylogenetic studies based on DNA sequences.[14][15][16] These studies confirm that the Fabaceae are a monophyletic group that is closely related to the families Polygalaceae, Surianaceae and Quillajaceae and that they belong to the order Fabales.[17]

Along with the cereals, some fruits and tropical roots, a number of Leguminosae have been a staple human food for millennia and their use is closely related to human evolution.[18]

The family Fabaceae includes a number of plants that are common in agriculture including Glycine max (soybean), Phaseolus (beans), Pisum sativum (pea), Cicer arietinum (chickpeas), Vicia faba (broad bean), Medicago sativa (alfalfa), Arachis hypogaea (peanut), Ceratonia siliqua (carob), Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek), and Glycyrrhiza glabra (liquorice). A number of species are also weedy pests in different parts of the world, including Cytisus scoparius (broom), Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust), Ulex europaeus (gorse), Pueraria montana (kudzu), and a number of Lupinus species.

  1. ^ "Fabales". www.mobot.org. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  2. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. hdl:10654/18083.
  3. ^ Watson L.; Dallwitz, M. J. (1 June 2007). "The families of flowering plants: Leguminosae". Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference 6subfamilies was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Schrire2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. Archived 27 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine Article 18.5 states: "The following names, of long usage, are treated as validly published: ....Leguminosae (nom. alt.: Fabaceae; type: Faba Mill. [= Vicia L.]); ... When the Papilionaceae are regarded as a family distinct from the remainder of the Leguminosae, the name Papilionaceae is conserved against Leguminosae." English pronunciations are as follows: /fəˈbeɪsi(i), -siaɪ, -sieɪ/, /ləˌɡjuːməˈnoʊsi/ and /pəˌpɪlioʊˈneɪsii/.
  7. ^ "List of plants in the family Fabaceae". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  8. ^ Christenhusz, M. J. M.; Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3): 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.
  9. ^ a b Judd, W. S., Campbell, C. S. Kellogg, E. A. Stevens, P.F. Donoghue, M. J. (2002), Plant systematics: a phylogenetic approach, Sinauer Axxoc, 287–292. ISBN 0-87893-403-0.
  10. ^ Stevens, P. F. "Fabaceae". Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 7 May 2006. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
  11. ^ Magallón, S. A., and Sanderson, M. J.; Sanderson (2001). "Absolute diversification rates in angiosperm clades". Evolution. 55 (9): 1762–1780. doi:10.1111/j.0014-3820.2001.tb00826.x. PMID 11681732. S2CID 38691512.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Burnham, R. J.; Johnson, K. R. (2004). "South American palaeobotany and the origins of neotropical rainforests". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 359 (1450): 1595–1610. doi:10.1098/rstb.2004.1531. PMC 1693437. PMID 15519975.
  13. ^ Lewis G., Schrire B., Mackinder B. and Lock M. 2005. (eds.) Legumes of the world. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Reino Unido. 577 pages. 2005. ISBN 1-900347-80-6.
  14. ^ Doyle, J. J., J. A. Chappill, C.D. Bailey, & T. Kajita. 2000. Towards a comprehensive phylogeny of legumes: evidence from rbcL sequences and non-molecular data. pp. 1 -20 in Advances in legume systematics, part 9, (P. S. Herendeen and A. Bruneau, eds.). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.
  15. ^ Kajita, T.; Ohashi, H.; Tateishi, Y.; Bailey, C. D.; Doyle, J. J. (2001). "rbcL and legume phylogeny, with particular reference to Phaseoleae, Millettieae, and allies". Systematic Botany. 26 (3): 515–536. doi:10.1043/0363-6445-26.3.515 (inactive 1 November 2024). JSTOR 3093979.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  16. ^ Wojciechowski, M. F., M. Lavin and M. J. Sanderson; Lavin; Sanderson (2004). "A phylogeny of legumes (Leguminosae) based on analysis of the plastid matK gene resolves many well-supported sub clades within the family". American Journal of Botany. 91 (11): 1846–1862. doi:10.3732/ajb.91.11.1846. PMID 21652332.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group [APG] (2003). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 141 (4): 399–436. doi:10.1046/j.1095-8339.2003.t01-1-00158.x.
  18. ^ Burkart, A. Leguminosas. In: Dimitri, M. 1987. Enciclopedia Argentina de Agricultura y Jardinería. Tomo I. Descripción de plantas cultivadas. Editorial ACME S.A.C.I., Buenos Aires. pages: 467–538.