edgepedia

Fabaceae: legumes and the pea family

226 articles

Ornithopus sativus

Ornithopus sativus, known as French serradella or pink serradella, is an annual legume in the pea family, native to southwestern Europe and northwestern Africa and grown as forage.

Oxyrhynchus

Oxyrhynchus (Oxyrhynchus Brandegee), a genus of twining Fabaceae legumes published in 1912; species include O. volubilis (twining bluehood) and O. papuanus, native from Mexico to Colombia, the Bahamas to Cuba, and Maluku to Papuasia.

Oxytropis

Oxytropis (locoweed genus) is a Fabaceae legume genus of about 400 species across subarctic and temperate Northern Hemisphere, distinguished from Astragalus by a pointed keel petal; some species carry swainsonine-producing endophytic fungi toxic to livestock.

Pachyrhizus

Pachyrhizus is a genus of five Neotropical legume species known as yam beans, three cultivated for their edible tuberous roots, including the Mexican species jicama.

Paraserianthes lophantha

Paraserianthes lophantha (crested wattle, plume albizia, stink bean) is the sole species of its mimosoid legume genus, native to SW Australia and Sumatra-Java-Lesser Sundas, with two subspecies, fire-stimulated hard seeds, and invasive status in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

Parkia biglobosa

Parkia biglobosa, the African locust bean or néré, is a Fabaceae savanna tree from Senegal to South Sudan whose fermented seeds (soumbala, dawadawa, iru) are a staple West African condiment; IUCN least concern.

Paubrasilia echinata

Paubrasilia echinata (pau-brasil, brazilwood, pernambuco), formerly Caesalpinia echinata, is a critically endangered Fabaceae tree endemic to Brazil's Atlantic Forest coast; its red dye wood named the country and makes violin bows.

Pea shoots

Pea shoots are the young, tender vine tips of garden peas (Pisum sativum), a Hmong-introduced specialty green eaten raw, steamed, or stir-fried; rich in vitamins C, E, A, and potassium, grown in cool 55–65°F weather, and used within one to two days of harvest.

Peach gum

Peach gum (桃胶), the injury-induced exudate of Prunus persica, yields type II arabinogalactan polysaccharides with arabinose and galactose as main sugars; extracted fractions emulsify better than gum arabic.

Peanut

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea), groundnut: a Fabaceae legume whose flowers pollinate above ground while pods ripen underground (geocarpy). Fourth-ranked global oilseed; ~50 Mt/year led by China, India, Nigeria; key allergen and aflatoxin risks.

Peltophorum

Peltophorum (Vogel) Benth., yellow-flowered trees of Fabaceae subfamily Caesalpinioideae, also called Baryxylum; seven accepted species, pantropical, sister to Bussea, used as ornamentals, timber, fodder, and medicine.

Pericopsis elata

Pericopsis elata (afrormosia, African teak, kokrodua) is an endangered Fabaceae timber tree of West and Central African semi-deciduous forest, CITES Appendix II since 1992, traded as logs, sawn wood, and veneer.

Phaseolus coccineus

Phaseolus coccineus, the runner or scarlet runner bean, is a Mesoamerican domesticated climbing legume, third-most important Phaseolus crop, grown for dry seeds and green pods, tolerating cool climates.

Piccalilli

Piccalilli: a British pickle relish of onions, cauliflower, and cucumber in a turmeric-yellow mustard sauce, first recorded 1769 as piccalillo; in America the name covers chopped pepper, tomato, or chow-chow-style relishes.

Pigeon pea

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), also red gram or gungo pea, is a drought-resistant tropical legume shrub domesticated in India from C. cajanifolius, grown on about 6 million ha for protein-rich seeds, fodder, and soil-improving nitrogen fixation.

Pithecellobium

Pithecellobium (blackbead) is a genus of spiny mimosoid legume trees and shrubs in Fabaceae, tribe Ingeae, native from Mexico to Brazil and Florida to the Caribbean, with about 21 accepted species including the Madras thorn, Pithecellobium dulce.

Pithecellobium dulce

Pithecellobium dulce, Manila tamarind, Madras thorn, guamúchil, kamachile: a spiny Fabaceae tree native from Mexico to Peru, grown for its sweet edible seed aril, fodder, and timber, and invasive in Hawaii, Florida, and India.

Pome

A pome is a fleshy fruit of the rose family, such as the apple, pear, quince, or medlar, whose flesh derives from the hypanthium around a leathery core, the true fruit.

Pongamia

Pongamia (pongam, Indian beech, Millettia pinnata) is a genus of nitrogen-fixing legume trees in Fabaceae native from tropical Asia to the western Pacific; its oil-rich seeds (about 40% oil) are a biofuel feedstock, and it is used for medicine, shade, and land restoration.

Prosopis cineraria

Prosopis cineraria, khejri or ghaf, a Fabaceae desert tree native from Arabia to India, key arid-zone agroforestry species valued for leaf fodder, edible pods, fuelwood, and soil improvement.

Psophocarpus tetragonolobus

Psophocarpus tetragonolobus, the winged bean or goa bean, is a twining tropical legume grown in hot, humid regions for its edible pods, seeds, leaves, and tubers.

Psoralea

Psoralea L. (fountainbush) is a Cape-centered legume genus in tribe Psoraleeae, described by Linnaeus in 1753, native Mozambique to South Africa, with about 129 species after absorbing Otholobium.

Pterocarpus

Pterocarpus (padouk, narra, red sanders) is a pantropical legume tree genus in Fabaceae, tribe Dalbergieae, with winged indehiscent pods and red resin; prized timbers include P. indicus, P. soyauxii, and endangered P. santalinus.

Pterocarpus macrocarpus

Pterocarpus macrocarpus, Burma padauk, pradoo, thnong: a deciduous Fabaceae timber tree native to Indochina, 10-30 m tall, with red termite-resistant heartwood, winged pods, and EU Annex D trade controls.

Pterocarpus santalinus

Pterocarpus santalinus (red sandalwood, red sanders) is an Endangered Fabaceae tree endemic to southern India's Eastern Ghats, CITES Appendix II since 1995, yielding claret-red heartwood and the dye santalin for furniture, medicine, and instruments.

Pueraria

Pueraria (kudzu vine genus) is a genus of tuberous-rooted climbing legumes in Fabaceae, tribe Phaseoleae, native to Asia and the W. Pacific; established by de Candolle in 1825, later shown polyphyletic and split into five genera including Haymondia and Toxicopueraria.

Rapeseed oil

Rapeseed oil (canola oil, from Canadian oil, low acid) is oil from Brassica napus and related seeds, bred below 2% erucic acid; global production about 37 million metric tons, used for food, feed, and biofuel.

Robinia pseudoacacia

Robinia pseudoacacia, black locust or false acacia, is a fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing North American tree introduced to Europe in the early 17th century, widely planted for durable wood and honey yet ranked among Europe's 100 most invasive alien species.

Samanea

Samanea (Benth.) Merr., a Fabaceae genus of Central and South American trees with 3 accepted species; its rain tree (S. saman, syn. Albizia saman) is a nitrogen-fixing shade tree up to 60 m tall with an 80 m crown.

Samanea saman

Samanea saman (rain tree, cow-tamarind; synonym Albizia saman), a Fabaceae tree native from Central America to Venezuela and Ecuador, widely planted in the tropics for shade, timber, and fodder, invasive in Fiji and Hawaii, and a model plant for nyctinastic leaf movement.