The Fabales are an order of flowering plants included in the rosid group of the eudicots in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II classification system. In the APG II circumscription, this order includes the families Fabaceae or legumes (including the subfamilies Caesalpinioideae, Mimosoideae, and Faboideae), Quillajaceae, Polygalaceae or milkworts (including the families Diclidantheraceae, Moutabeaceae, and Xanthophyllaceae), and Surianaceae. The Fabaceae, as the third-largest plant family in the world, contain most of the diversity of the Fabales, the other families making up a comparatively small portion of the order's diversity. Research in the order is largely focused on the Fabaceae, due in part to its great biological diversity, and to its importance as food plants. The Polygalaceae are fairly well researched among plant families, in part due to the large diversity of the genus Polygala , and other members of the family being food plants for various Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species. [1] [2]
The anthophytes are a grouping of plant taxa bearing flower-like reproductive structures. They were formerly thought to be a clade comprising plants bearing flower-like structures. The group contained the angiosperms - the extant flowering plants, such as roses and grasses - as well as the Gnetales and the extinct Bennettitales. [3]
23,420 species of vascular plant have been recorded in South Africa, making it the sixth most species-rich country in the world and the most species-rich country on the African continent. Of these, 153 species are considered to be threatened. [4] Nine biomes have been described in South Africa: Fynbos, Succulent Karoo, desert, Nama Karoo, grassland, savanna, Albany thickets, the Indian Ocean coastal belt, and forests. [5]
The 2018 South African National Biodiversity Institute's National Biodiversity Assessment plant checklist lists 35,130 taxa in the phyla Anthocerotophyta (hornworts (6)), Anthophyta (flowering plants (33534)), Bryophyta (mosses (685)), Cycadophyta (cycads (42)), Lycopodiophyta (Lycophytes(45)), Marchantiophyta (liverworts (376)), Pinophyta (conifers (33)), and Pteridophyta (cryptogams (408)). [6]
Two families are represented in the literature. Listed taxa include species, subspecies, varieties, and forms as recorded, some of which have subsequently been allocated to other taxa as synonyms, in which cases the accepted taxon is appended to the listing. Multiple entries under alternative names reflect taxonomic revision over time.
Genus Acrocarpus : [6]
Genus Adenolobus : [6]
Genus Adenopodia : [6]
Genus Aeschynomene : [6]
Genus Alysicarpus : [6]
Genus Amphinomia : [6]
Genus Amphithalea : [6]
Genus Argyrolobium : [6]
Genus Aspalathus : [6]
Genus Astragalus : [6]
Genus Bituminaria : [6]
Genus Bolusanthus : [6]
Genus Brachystegia : [6]
Genus Caesalpinia : [6]
Genus Calliandra : [6]
Genus Chamaecrista : [6]
Genus Chamaecytisus : [6]
Genus Chirocalyx : [6]
Genus Colophospermum : [6]
Genus Crotalaria : [6]
Genus Desmanthus : [6]
Genus Dichrostachys : [6]
Genus Dolicholus : [6]
Genus Elephantorrhiza : [6]
Genus Enterolobium : [6]
Genus Erythrophleum : [6]
Genus Faidherbia : [6]
Genus Glycyrrhiza : [6]
Genus Guibourtia : [6]
Genus Guilandina : [6]
Genus Hoffmannseggia : [6]
Genus Hypocalyptus : [6]
Genus Indigastrum : [6]
Genus Indigofera : [6]
Genus Lonchocarpus : [6]
Genus Macroptilium : [6]
Genus Macrotyloma : [6]
Genus Melolobium : [6]
Genus Microcharis : [6]
Genus Neonotonia : [6]
Genus Neorautanenia : [6]
Genus Nesphostylis : [6]
Genus Ormocarpum : [6]
Genus Ornithopus : [6]
Genus Otholobium : [6]
Genus Paraserianthes : [6]
Genus Parkinsonia : [6]
Genus Peltophorum : [6]
Genus Philenoptera : [6]
Genus Piliostigma : [6]
Genus Pleiospora : [6]
Genus Polytropia : [6]
Genus Priestleya : [6]
Genus Pseudarthria : [6]
Genus Pterocarpus : [6]
Genus Pterolobium : [6]
Genus Ptycholobium : [6]
Genus Rhynchosia : [6]
Genus Sphenostylis : [6]
Genus Stirtonanthus : [6]
Genus Stylosanthes : [6]
Genus Styphnolobium : [6]
Genus Sutherlandia : [6]
Genus Tamarindus : [6]
Genus Trigonella : [6]
Genus Wiborgiella : [6]
Genus Xanthocercis : [6]
Genus Xerocladia : [6]
Genus Xeroderris : [6]
Genus Xiphotheca : [6]
Family: Polygalaceae, [6]
Genus Heterosamara : [6]
Genus Securidaca : [6]
Indigofera is a large genus of over 750 species of flowering plants belonging to the pea family Fabaceae. They are widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
Lotononis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae and the tribe Crotalarieae. The genus includes 99 species of annual and perennial herbs, native to the southeastern Europe and Turkey, eastern Africa, and southern Africa.
Crotalarieae is a tribe of flowering plants belonging to the family Fabaceae. It includes rooibos (Aspalathus linearis), which is harvested for sale as a tisane.
Aspalathus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The yellow flowers and spiny habit of some species have suggested a resemblance to Ulex europaeus, the thorny "English gorse" Accordingly, "Cape Gorse" has been proposed as a common name although the resemblance is largely superficial; for instance, gorse is thorny, whereas Aspalathus species are variously spiny or unarmed. The genus belongs to the subfamily Faboideae. There are over 270 species, mainly endemic to southwestern fynbos regions in South Africa, with over fifty occurring on the Cape Peninsula alone. The species Aspalathus linearis is commercially important, being farmed as the source of Rooibos tea.
Rafnia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes 29 species of shrubs and subshrubs native to South Africa. They grow in Mediterranean-climate fynbos (shrubland) and grassland, mostly on rocky and sandy soils. Most are native to the Cape Provinces, with some extending eastwards into KwaZulu-Natal. It belongs to subfamily Faboideae.
Leobordea is a genus of legumes in the family Fabaceae and the tribe Crotalarieae. Members of this genus are found in the eastern parts of South Africa as well as tropical Africa and the Mediterranean countries. It was recently segregated from the genus Lotononis.