Family: Fabaceae, Sub-family: Papilionoideae (Legume family)

Distribution: cosmopolitan in distribution, except in artic region. This sub-family consist of 425
genera and 12,150 species
Habitat: terrestrial, wild or cultivate for pulses and oil
Habit: annual or perennial herbs, climbers (Lathyrus), shrubs (Sesbania), or trees (Dalbergia)
Root: tap root with nodulated, root nodules consisting of symbiotically associated nitrogen
fixing bacteria Rhizobium
Stem: aerial, erect, climbers supported by tendrils (Pisum), branched, cylindrical or
quadriangular (Vicia faba), herbaceous or woody (Darbergia), solid or fistular (Vicia faba),
glabrous or pubescent
Leaf: cauline and ramal, alternate or opposite or whorl, stipulate (foliaceous stipule), Petiolate,
pulvinous petiole (Glycine max), simple (Crotolaria), pinnately or palmately compound lead,
terminal leaflets are modified into tendrils (Pisum) or rudimentary (Vicia faba), entire,
mucronate, pubescent or glabrous, unicoasted reticulate venation
Inflorescence: racemose, raceme (Pisum), panicle (Darbergia), solitary axillary (Lathyrus), head
(Trifolium)
Flower: bracteate, pedicellate, zygomorphic, complete, bisexual, pentamerous, hypogynous,
papilionaceous, variously colour
Calyx: sepals five, gamosepalous, odd-anterior, ascending imbricate aestivation, campanulate,
persistent, sepaloid, inferior
Corolla: petals five, two gamopetalous, three polypetalous, posterior larger petals known as
vexillium or standard, lateral middle medium petals known as wing or alae and anterior two
small fused petals known as keel or carina, papilionaceous, vexillary aestivation, variously color,
inferior
Androecium: stamens ten, diadelphous, one polyandrous, nine synandrous, filaments of nine
stamens fused together to form a staminal tube that encloses style and stigma, Monadelphous
(Crotalaria), anther dithecous, dorsifixed or basifixed, introrse, inferior
Gynoecium: carpel one, monocarpellary, ovary superior, unilocular with many ovules, marginal
placentation, style short and bent, stigma capitate
Fruit: simple, dry, dehiscent, legume or pod or lomentum
Seed: two cotyledons, mainly albuminous
Floral formula:
Floral diagram:
Identifying characters
Nodulated roots, nodules cosisting of symbiotically associated Rhizobium bacteria
Foliaceous stipule
Papilonaceous flower
Odd anterior sepals, ascending imbricate aestivation, persistent calyx
Presence of standard or vexillium, wing or aleae, keel or carina, vexillary aestivation
Diadelphous stamens, presence of staminal tube that encloses style and stigma
Unilocular with many ovules, marginal placentation
Legume or lomentum or pod

Classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Phanerogams
Sub-division: Angiospermae
Class: Dicotyledonae
Sub-class: Polypetalae
Series: Calciflorae
Order: Rosales
Family: Fabaceae
Sub-family: Papilionoideae

Economically important plants

Dalbergia sissoo
Pisum sativum
Lathyrus orodatus
Glycine max
Cajanus cajan
Phaseolus mungo
Lens esculentum
Trifolium repens
Arachis hypogaea