Caesalpiniaceae

Family features
 Vegetative features
• Habit Plants of

this family have great variation in their habit - shrubs, trees, climbers and rarely herbs. Some

may be woody climbers. Most of them are wild plants and many are cultivated for their

showy flowers.

• Root

Tap root system and well branched

• Stem Erect, woody,

solid, well branched, but sometimes herbaceous or climbing, glabrous covered with prickles in some species e.

g. in latakaranja.

• Leaves

Usually compound and unipinnate (Cassia, Tamarindus) or sometimes bipinnate (Caesalpinia).

In Bauhinia the leaf is deeply emarginate-perhaps due to the fusion of two leaflets. Leaflets are in

opposite pairs. Paripinnate, petiolate, leaf base pulvinus, alternate phyllotaxy, ovate or obovate, glands or
 Floral features
• Inflorescence-
Usually racemose inflorescence.
• Flowers-
Pedicellate, zygomorphic ,bisexual , pentamerous variously
colored, showy, large or small.
• Calyx-
Number of sepals- 5, Free or polysepalous, rarely fused ,
odd sepal anterior , imbricate aestivation and inferior
• Corolla
Number of petals- 5, polypetalous, ascending
imbricate aestivation, inferior and usually showy.
• Androecium
No of stamens are 10. Stamens are free and arranged in three groups. First Gp.- large sized stamens,
protruding out of petals, 3 or 4 in numbers and always fertile. Second Gp.- medium sized stamens are also 3
or 4 in numbers and may be fertile or sterile .Third Gp.- small sized stamens may be 3 or 4 in numbers ,
anthers may be present or not and these are always sterile; Dithecous and inferior.
• Gynoecium
Monocarpellary ovary, unilocular with marginal placentation, superior, elongated, style long , stigma
simple.
• Fruit
Fruits are pods , may be sessile ,always in legumes , usually large in size.
• Seeds
Dicotyledons , usually glabrous .
Important plants
• latakrHja - Caesalpinia crista
• AargvaQa - Cassia fistula
• ASaaok - Saraca asoca
• kaHcanaar - Bauhinia variegata
• kasamad- - Cassia occidentalis
• cak`mad- - Cassia tora
• sanaaya - Cassia aungustifolia
• Aavat-kI - Cassia auriculata

•
Aimlaka - Tamarindus indicus
End of lecture one