Fabaceae Lindley Bean or Pea family (=Leguminosae A. L. de Jussieu)
Subfamily Caesalpinioideae DC. B & H, Takhtajan, Thorne, APG III and APweb as Caesalpinioideae Cronquist and Dahlgren as family Caesalpiniaceae. Approx.150 genera, 2,700 species Distributed mainly in tropics and subtropics, a few species in the temperate regions. Salient features: Trees, shrubs or herbs, leaves usually pinnate compound with pulvinate base, flowers zygomorphic corolla not papilionaceous, posterior petal innermost, sepals free, odd sepal anterior, stamens 10, usually free, in two whorls , ovary superior, carpel 1, fruit a pod. Major genera: Chamaecrisia (260 species), Bauhinia (250), Senna (250), Caesalpinia (120) and Cassia (30). Description: Trees (Delonix), shrubs or herbs, rarely woody climbers (Pterolobium, Bauhinia). Leaves alternate, pinnately or palmately compound, sometimes simple (Bauhinia), leaf base (sometimes also the base of leaflets) pulvinate, stipules present. Inflorescence racemose, in racemes or spikes (Dimorphandra). Flowers bracteate (bracts usually caducous) bisexual, zygomorphic, perigynous. Calyx with 5 sepals, rarely 4 (Amherstia), free or rarely connate (Bauhinia), odd sepal anterior. Corolla with 5 petals, rarely 3 (Amherstia), 1 (Pahuda) or even absent (Tamarindus), free, not papilionaceous, posterior petal innermost. Androecium with 10 stamens, sometimes lesser (3 in Tamarindus), rarely more, free, sometimes unequal in size (Cassia), anthers bithecous, dehiscence longitudinal or by apical pores. Gynoecium with a single carpel, unilocular with many ovules, placentation marginal, ovary superior, style single, curved. Fruit a legume or pod, rarely a lomentum; seeds 1-many, seed coat hard, endosperm minute or absent, food reserves in cotyledons. Economic importance: The Subfamily includes several ornamentals such as pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima), paulo verde (Parkinsonia), red bud (cercis canadensis), Gul-mohar (Delonix regia), and several species of Cassia and Senna. Many species of Senna are cultivated for leaves that yield drug senna. The heartwood of Haematoxylon campechianum (logwood) yields the dye hematoxylin. Please feel free to share photographs of your collection of this group during the week. Also resurface any unidentified members and upload those meant for fresh identification/confirmation. The mails should have subject line "Fabaceae-Caesalpinioidea (Caesalpiniaceae) Week:.................." -- Dr. Gurcharan Singh Retired Associate Professor SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089 http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/
