The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, 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.
The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family.
Almaleea is a genus of perennial shrubs from the family Fabaceae native to Australia.
Frankia is a genus of nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in symbiosis with actinorhizal plants, similar to the Rhizobium bacteria found in the root nodules of legumes in the family Fabaceae. Frankia also initiate the forming of root nodules.
Clianthus, commonly known as kakabeak, is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, comprising two species of shrubs endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. They have striking clusters of red flowers which resemble the beak of the kaka, a New Zealand parrot. The plants are also known as parrot's beak, parrot's bill and lobster claw – all references to the distinctive flowers. There is also a variety with white to creamy coloured flowers called: "Albus," and a variety with rosy pink flowers called: "Roseus."
The subfamily Detarioideae is one of the subdivisions of the plant family Fabaceae (legumes). This subfamily includes many tropical trees, some of which are used for timber or have ecological importance. The subfamily consists of 84 genera, most of which are native to Africa and Asia. Pride of Burma and tamarind are two of the most notable species in Detarioideae. It has the following clade-based definition:
The most inclusive crown clade containing Goniorrhachis marginataTaub. and Aphanocalyx cynometroidesOliv., but not Cercis canadensisL., Duparquetia orchidaceaBaill., or Bobgunnia fistuloides(Harms) J. H. Kirkbr. & Wiersema.
Templetonia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. They are native to Australia. The genus is named in honour of John Templeton, an Irish naturalist and botanist.
Hovea is a genus of about forty species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, and is endemic to Australia. Plants in this genus are sub-shrubs, shrubs or small trees with simple leaves and purple, blue or mauve flowers with a white centre. The fruit is a pod containing brown to blackish seeds. Species of Hovea occur in all Australian states, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.
Storckiella is a genus of four recognised species of trees, of the plant family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Dialioideae. They grow naturally in New Caledonia, Fiji and Australia.
Streblorrhiza was a monotypic genus of legumes in the family Fabaceae. Its only species was Streblorrhiza speciosa, a perennial shrub endemic to Phillip Island. It is now presumed extinct.
Labichea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes 16 species of shrubs native to northern Australia – Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia. Typical habitats are tropical and seasonally-dry, and include rocky sandstone ravines, coastal sand dunes, desert, and semi-arid woodland and dry scrub, generally on granite or sandstone substrates. It belongs to the subfamily Dialioideae.
Lamprolobium is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes two species endemic to Queensland. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae.
Plagiocarpus is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes seven species of shrubs or subshrubs native to northern Australia, from the Kimberley region of Western Australia to western Queensland. Their habitats include seasonally-dry tropical to subtropical woodland, bushland and thicket, shrubland, and grassland, typically on sandstone or sandy soils. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae.
Smithia is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes 20 species of herbs or subshrubs native to sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Japan, Malesia, and northern Australia. The greatest diversity of species is in the Indian subcontinent, with 11 endemic species. Six more are widespread in southern and eastern Asia, and two of these, S. conferta and S. sensitiva, range further to northern Australia. Two species are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. S. elliotii is native to Madagascar as well as mainland Africa, and S. conferta is also native to Madagascar. Typical habitats include seasonally-dry tropical grassland, wetlands, and streamsides.
The tribe Brongniartieae is one of the subdivisions of the plant family Fabaceae, primarily found in tropical regions of the Americas and in Australia The members of this tribe consistently form a monophyletic clade in molecular phylogenetic analyses. The tribe does not currently have a node-based definition, but morphological synapomorphies have been identified:
"stamens united by filaments in an adaxially open tube; anthers alternately long and basifixed, short and versatile; anther connective inconspicuous; septa present between seeds in pods; aril lateral lobe present and fitting into heel of funicle; fine red glandular processes present in axils; and pollen tricolporate with opercula and no definite endoaperture."
Storckiella australiensis is a species of large rainforest legume trees up to 35 m (115 ft) tall, constituting part of the plant family Fabaceae. It has the common name white bean.
Trigonella suavissima is a herbaceous plant that is endemic to Australia. It is a member of the genus Trigonella and the family Fabaceae. Common names include Cooper clover, Menindee clover, calomba, Darling trigonella, sweet fenugreek, channel clover, sweet-scented clover and Australian shamrock.
Cristonia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes two species native to Southwest Australia.
The Mirbelioids are an informal subdivision of the plant family Fabaceae that includes the former tribes Bossiaeeae and Mirbelieae. They are consistently recovered as a monophyletic clade in molecular phylogenies. The Mirbelioids arose 48.4 ± 1.3 million years ago. Members of this clade are mostly ericoid (sclerophyllous) shrubs with yellow and red flowers found in Australia, Tasmania, and Papua-New Guinea. The name of this clade is informal and is not assumed to have any particular taxonomic rank like the names authorized by the ICBN or the ICPN. Members of this clade exhibit unusual embryology compared to other legumes, either enlarged antipodal cells in the embryo sac or the production of multiple embryo sacs. There has been a shift from bee pollination to bird pollination several times in this clade. Mirbelioids produce quinolizidine alkaloids, but unlike most papilionoids, they do not produce isoflavones. Many of the Mirbelioids have pseudoraceme inflorescences.
Michael Douglas Crisp is an emeritus professor in the Research School of Biology at the Australian National University located in Canberra. In 1976, he gained a PhD from the University of Adelaide, studying long-term vegetation changes in arid zones of South Australia. In 2020, Crisp moved to Brisbane, where he has an honorary position at the University of Queensland. Together with colleagues, he revised various pea-flowered legume genera.
