Description:

• Trees, shrubs, climbers, lianes or herbs
• Leaves usually alternate, often pinnate or pinnately 3-foliolate or digitately compound, occasionally 1-foliolate; stipules usually present, various
• Inflorescence a spike, raceme, panicle or head
• Flowers various, usually bracteate, regular or irregular, mostly bisexual
• Sepals in regular flowers (3)4-5(6), connate or free, in irregular flowers (4)5, free or connate into a toothed or lobed calyx
• Petals connate or free, in regular flowers as many as sepals, in irregular flowers 5 or fewer by abortion
• Stamens twice as many as petals, sometimes more, rarely as many as or fewer than number of petals; filaments free or variously connate; anthers 2-thecous, generally opening by longitudinal slits
• Ovary almost always superior, 1-locular, 1-many-ovuled; style and stigma simple
• Fruit generally a 2-valved, dehiscent pod, rarely fleshy and sometimes indehiscent and occasionally breaking into segments
• Seeds various, without or with very little endosperm

Classification Notes:

• One of the principles followed in Southern Africa is to maintain uniformity of treatment, where practicable, with the Floras of neighbouring territories. The case of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae) leaves one in a dilemma. Hutchinson (1964) and others prefer to treat Caesalpiniaceae, Mimosaceae and Fabaceae (Papilionaceae) as separate families. Brenan (1967), who maintains Leguminosae, summarises the position in the following words: 'Although some authors consider the three subfamilies of Leguminosae as separate families, this really represents no more than a slight difference of opinion. If emphasis is laid on the borderline tribes mentioned, then subfamily is the reasonable rank; if, on the other hand, these are discounted in favour of the numerically much larger mass of genera about whose position there is no room for doubt or difference of opinion, then the subfamilies are reasonably considered as families. The three groups, however, remain very much the same in content, whatever taxonomic rank is assigned to them'
• In this work Fabaceae is used, an alternate name for Leguminosae, with Mimosoideae, Caesalpinioideae and Papilionoideae as subfamilies. The keys to the subfamilies, groups and genera are based very largely on the publications of Dyer (1975), Ross (1975, 1977), Polhill (1981a) and Polhill & Raven (1981)

Nomenclature:

• Fabaceae
  • Harvey: 1 (1862)
  • Brenan: 1 (1959)
  • Hutchinson: 221 (1964)
  • Brenan: 1 (1967)
  • Schreiber: 1 (1967a)
  • Schreiber: 1 (1967b)
  • Schreiber: 1 (1970)
  • Gillett, Polhill & Verdcourt: 1 (1971)
  • Ross: 1 (1975)
  • Ross: 1 (1977)
  • Polhill: 191 (1981a)
  • Polhill: 391 (1981b)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Genera 650, species ± 18 000
• Southern Africa: Genera 149, species ± 1705; economically important family

References:

• BRENAN, J.P.M. 1959. Flora of tropical East Africa. Leguminosae (part 1). Mimosoideae
• BRENAN, J.P.M. 1967. Flora of tropical East Africa. Leguminosae (part 2). Caesalpinioideae
• DYER, R.A. 1975. The genera of southern African flowering plants, Vol. 1. Botanical Research Institute, Pretoria
• GILLETT, J.B., POLHILL, R.M. & VERDCOURT, B. 1971. Flora of tropical East Africa. Leguminosae. (part 3). Papilionoideae
• HARVEY, W.H. 1862. Leguminosae. Flora capensis 2
• HUTCHINSON, J. 1964. Order LEGUMINALES. The genera of flowering plants 1. Oxford University Press, Oxford
• POLHILL, R.M. 1981a. Papilionoideae. In R.M. Polhill & P.H. Raven, Advances in Legume Systematics 1
• POLHILL, R.M. 1981b. Mirbelieae. In R.M. Polhill & P.H. Raven, Advances in Legume Systematics 1
• POLHILL, R.M. & RAVEN, P.H. (eds.) 1981. Advances in Legume Systematics 1
• ROSS, J.H. 1975. Fabaceae. Mimosoideae. Flora of southern Africa 16,1
• ROSS, J.H. 1977. Fabaceae. Caesalpinioideae. Flora of southern Africa 16,2
• SCHREIBER, A. 1967a. Mimosaceae. Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika 58
• SCHREIBER, A. 1967b. Caesalpiniaceae. Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika 59
• SCHREIBER, A. 1970. Fabaceae. Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika 60

Resources:

• Classification of Fabaceae
• Key to Fabaceae subfamilies
• Key to Fabaceae genera (Intermediate ranks omitted)

• Fabaceae Subfamiles:

• Fabaceae Genera: