Description of Some Important Families: Fabaceae
This family was earlier called Papilionoideae, a subfamily of family Leguminosae. It is distributed all over the world
- Vegetative Characters : Trees, shrubs, herbs; root with root nodules
- Stem: erect or climber
- Leaves: alternate, pinnately compound or simple; leaf base, pulvinate; stipulate; venation reticulate
- Floral characters
- Inflorescence: racemose
- Flower: bisexual, zygomorphic
- Calyx: sepals five, gamosepalous; valvate/imbricate aestivation
- Corolla: petals five, polypetalous, papilionaceous, consisting of a posterior standard, two lateral wings, two anterior ones forming a keel (enclosing stamens and pistil), vexillary aestivation
- Androecium: ten, diadelphous, anther dithecous
- Gynoecium: ovary superior, mono carpellary, unilocular with many ovules, style single
- Fruit: legume; seed: one to many, non-endospermic
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Posterior petal called standard is the largest in papilionaceous corolla.
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