Class Dicotyledons. Legume family. Moth family Legume family formula

general characteristics leguminous plants and their classification.

Legumes (Fabaceae s.l.) is a large family of dicotyledonous plants, represented by more than 20,000 species, united in almost a thousand genera. Among them there are trees, shrubs, perennial and annual herbs that grow in all climatic zones planets. A common feature is the structure of the leaf and mainly the fruit.

The legume family is usually divided into three subfamilies, Caesalpiniaceae ( Caesalpinioideae), Mimosa ( Mimosoideae) and actually Leguminosae or Papilaceae ( Faboideae or Papillionaceae), differing mainly in the structure of the flower. Some botanists prefer to consider them as separate families.

Caesalpiaceae and mimosa are represented by a small number of genera growing in areas with warm climates, these are mainly trees or shrubs. The subfamily Caesalpiaceae includes, for example, carob ( Ceratonis), tamarind ( Tamarindus), caesalpinia ( Caesalpinia), in Russia – Judaic scarlet ( Cercis siliquastrum). Typical representatives of mimosa are mimosa pudica ( Mimosa pudica), native to South and Central America, acacia vera ( Acacia Julibrissin), silver acacia ( Acacia dealbata), which grows in the Caucasus and is mistakenly called mimosa here.

Papillonaceae or actual legumes plants make up the vast majority of the family and are distributed in all climatic zones. This includes well-known vegetable and fodder crops, such as peas, beans, soybeans, beans, as well as clover, alfalfa, vetch, etc.

Description of leguminous plants - seeds, leaves, roots

Due to the huge variety of species it is difficult to give a single characteristic leguminous plants, however, they all have a number of distinctive characteristics, according to which they belong to the same family.

home characteristic legume family - a special structure of the fruit, scientifically called a bean, and in agricultural literature or everyday life - a pod. It is a single-locular fruit with two valves. Inside the bean, the seeds are attached to the even and odd valves. In most species the fruit is multi-seeded, in some it is single-seeded. When ripe, the fruit opens along one (for representatives of the caesalpiaceae) or two sutures. The beans come in a variety of shapes and sizes; the largest is that of the climbing entada, which grows up to 1.5 m and is also the largest fruit in the world. A photo of beans or pods of one of the typical plants of the family is shown below.

All leguminous plants have irregular, bisymmetrical flowers, collected in apical or axillary inflorescences, racemes or heads. The number of flowers in an inflorescence can be different, up to one, but then big size. The most characteristic flower, shaped like a flying moth, is found in the moths, which is why the subfamily got its name.

By appearance it also resembles a boat, giving each petal a specific name. The largest, unpaired one is called a sail (vexillum), the next pair of narrower, symmetrically located ones are called oars or wings ( alae), and the last two, fused along their lower edge, are called boat (carina). Inside the boat there is a pistil surrounded by 10 stamens; in most species, 9 of them are fused together, one is located separately.

Representatives of the subfamily Caesalpiaceae have flowers that are less irregular, the two lower petals do not grow together in a boat, and the stamens are all free and do not form a single plate. Mimosas differ even more in the structure of their flowers; they are almost correct form, small, collected in dense heads, sometimes brushes, have from 4 to 6 parts, in most plants - 5. The number of stamens can be from 4 to an indefinite number.

The leaves of most legumes are compound, pinnate or palmate, arranged in pairs, from one to 20 or more.

There are often stipules, sometimes larger than leaves, on the petioles of which in many species simple or branched tendrils are formed.

Legume roots

A characteristic feature of the roots of leguminous plants is the presence of nodules on them, special growths that are colonies of nitrogen-fixing bacteria that penetrate from the ground into the root cells, causing the growth of its tissues.

During their life, bacteria absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into a form accessible to plants.

Such nitrogen is not only used for the growth and development of the host plant, but also accumulates in all its parts and is released into the soil.

Certain types of legumes return at least 100-140 kg of nitrogen to the soil per year, which makes them the main crops for land reclamation.

Nodule bacteria are present on the roots of the majority (70%) of mothaceae, some mimosa and 10-15% of caesalpiaceae plants.

Composition of beans: vitamins, oils, proteins, starch and other substances

The role of legumes in the life of human civilization is difficult to overestimate. In terms of importance for the global economy, they are second only to grain crops. Representatives of this family are not only food plants, which have formed an integral part of the diet of many peoples since ancient times, but also forage, ornamental, industrial, medicinal, melliferous crops, and a source of valuable wood.

The vast majority of legumes used for food belong to the subfamily Papyraceae. These are primarily soybeans, a widespread food product in many countries, as well as peas, different kinds beans and beans, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, mung beans, etc. Their nutritional value is determined by the composition of the beans, which are rich in proteins, contain large amounts of starch, and many types accumulate vegetable oil in the fruits. In peas, for example, protein contains up to 27%, in lentils - up to 32%, and in soybeans up to 40%, in some varieties up to 48-50% of the total weight of the fruit. Thus, legumes, especially soybeans, are a cheap substitute meat products not only for the world's poor, but also for those who adhere to certain diets that limit meat consumption. A number of members of the family, in particular soybeans and peanuts, are used for industrial production. vegetable oil. In terms of the amount of oil produced, peanuts are in second place in the world, after cotton.

In tropical countries, legumes with underground tubers are considered promising food crops. In terms of the amount of starch and protein, as well as yield, such plants are superior to potatoes and yams. For example, in pachyrysus notuosa, which is native to Mexico, and Brazilian pachyrysus tuberosus, individual tubers grow up to 8 kg.

Legume vegetables are important source vitamins A, C, PP, and especially B vitamins: B1, B2, B6, which have a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system. The fiber they contain helps intestinal function, causes quick satiety, and the amino acids and lysine present in the protein strengthen the immune system. Another advantage of legumes is that they do not accumulate nitrates and toxic substances.

Representatives of the subfamilies Mimosa and Caesalpiniaceae are not as common among food crops as moth plants, but they also include widely cultivated species. An example is tamarind, grown for its fruits, which contain up to 40% sugars, vitamin C, citric and tartaric acids. In Mediterranean countries, carob fruit is also widely used.

Many species of the legume family are important forage crops. In terms of area occupied, clover ranks first in the world. Various types of alfalfa are no less common, even surpassing clover in feed value. Another representative of the family is camel thorn, the main pasture plant of the deserts and semi-deserts of Central Asia. To less common feed legumes include some low-alkaloid varieties of lupine, sainfoin; in China, Canada and the USA, white sweet clover is cultivated for this purpose.

All of the above forage plants belong to the moth subfamily. IN last years in this capacity, some representatives of the mimosa subfamily are increasingly used in the tropics. These are primarily a number of African species of acacia, in particular, white acacia, as well as plants of the genus Prosopis. Particularly promising in this regard is the leukena tree ( Leucaena leucocephala), originally from Central America, now cultivated almost everywhere in tropical countries. The green mass obtained from it is nutritional value is not inferior to alfalfa, and the yield is 1.5 - 2 times higher.

A number of family members are valuable medicinal plants. For example, cassia is widely used as a diuretic and laxative; rutin is obtained from Sophora japonica; it is used in the form of an infusion for washing and irrigating purulent wounds and ulcers. The root of licorice and Ural licorice is a raw material for the medical and food industries.

Among the numerous representatives of legumes there are ornamental plants, flowers, trees and shrubs, some tropical species serve as a source of valuable wood of pink, red, dark brown color; a number of African acacias are used to produce gum arabic, a natural glue. Many legumes produce gum, which is used in the textile, paint and varnish, and food industries.

Legumes are a huge family of dicotyledonous plants (trees, vines, shrubs, subshrubs and herbs), belonging to the order Legumes, class Dicotyledons, division Flowering plants, kingdom Plants, domain Eukaryotes.

Some plants from this family are used by humans as food, some as ornamental, and some for land restoration.

What is a "bean"?

First of all, it is a fruit that has an elongated shape and consists of two thin valves, between which the seeds are located. The size of the legume fruit can fit in the palm of your hand, or it can reach enormous sizes.

Peas

Entada from the subfamily Mimosa

The Legume family includes 24,505 plant species and is divided into three subfamilies: Caesalpiniaceae, Mothaceae and Mimosa.

Caesalpinioideae

1 Caesalpinioideae, which are mainly trees growing in the tropics, with the exception of the genus Cassia, which includes shrubs and herbs, are very important for medicine. They are divided into four tribes: Caesalpineaceae, Cassiusaceae, Crimsonaceae, Detariaceae.

a) Caesalpinieae

Caesalpinia - named after the Italian physician Andrea Cesalpino in 1703. Grows only in warm regions. This is an ornamental plant up to 6 meters high.

Сaesalpinia-pulcherrima

Caesalpinia pulcherrima

Caesalpinia bonducella is most often a vine that reaches a height of up to 15 meters. Mainly grows in Asia, Africa, South America. Used in folk medicine, since an anti-fever remedy is obtained from its seeds.

Colvillea

Parkinsonia

Peltophorum

Caesalpinia echinata grows only in eastern Brazil. Due to logging in wildlife This type of tree can be found very rarely. There are sharp growths on its trunk. That's why they called it hedgehog.

It grows up to 30 meters in height. Previously, the trunk of this tree was used to obtain dyes. Belongs to valuable tree species.

b) Cassieae - Cassieceae

c) Cercideae

The crimson plant grows in China.

Bauhinia is distributed throughout the world.

d) Detarieae

Brownea

Moths (Faboideae)

2 Moths (Faboideae), which grow mainly in the temperate zone as herbaceous plants, many of which we eat, such as peas, beans, soybeans, peanuts. In the tropics these are woody plants in the form of vines.

Wisteria (Wistéria) is a climbing, tree-like subtropical plant – deciduous vine. They grow in Japan and China, and are also used as ornamental plants around the world.

Robinieae

Mimosa (Mimosoideae)

3 Mimosa (Mimosoideae), numbering up to 1,500 thousand species and growing in the subtropical and tropical zones. These are mainly trees and shrubs that have medicinal value, the wood of which is very valuable for humans.

a) Acaciae - Acacia

They mainly grow in Mexico, Africa, Asia, Australia.

Acacia dealbata silver

Acacia pycnantha golden wattle is the floral emblem of Australia

Acacia linifolia

Acacia_brachystachya

Acacia drepanolobium grows in Africa. This is the only type of acacia that ants live on. They settle in the swollen cavities of the spines. Air entering them makes a whistle and thereby scares away animals.

b) Ingeae

Albizia

Zygia

Archidendron

Calliandra

c) Mimosa (Mimoseae)

Dichrostachys

Parkia

Pentaclethra

Elephantorrhiza

Mimosa pudica

Plants of the legume family

The Legume family plays an important role in people's lives. Some types serve decorative decoration and give us valuable breed wood, others are indispensable in medicine, and still others are very tasty and nutritious food.

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Flowers in plants of the legume family are solitary or collected in an inflorescence - a raceme or head. The flower looks like a boat or a butterfly, so the second name of the family is Moth. The corolla of a legume flower consists of 5 petals: the upper large one is a “flag” or “sail”, two side ones are “wings” or “oars”, and two inner ones grow together along the lower edge and form a “boat”. The “boat” contains 10 stamens and 1 pestle. In some legumes (peas, alfalfa), the threads of 9 stamens grow together, but one remains free. The flower formula for most legumes is: H 5 L 1 + 2 + (2) T (9) + 1 P 1. Flowers are pollinated by insects, mainly bees. In clover, the petals grow together into a long tube, and the bees' proboscis does not reach the nectar. Therefore, clover is pollinated by bumblebees, which have a longer proboscis. Self-pollination occurs in peas and lupines.

Fetus

The fruit of legumes is a bean. The seeds in it are located on two valves and are covered with a dense peel, thanks to which they remain viable for several years.

Root system

The root system of legumes is taproot. Most of them have nodules on the roots - the result of the vital activity of nodule bacteria that penetrate into the root from the soil. Nodule bacteria are capable of using air nitrogen and forming nitrogen-containing minerals that plants feed on. Nitrogen is part of proteins, so legumes are rich in proteins. After the roots of leguminous plants die, the soil is enriched with nitrogen and becomes more fertile.

Among the plants of the legume family, all life forms are found: trees ( locust, or white acacia, mimosa), bushes ( caragana, or yellow acacia), perennial grasses ( clover, lupine), as well as curly forms ( peas, Vika).

Representatives of legumes have developed adaptations to a wide variety of natural conditions. That's why they are found almost everywhere. Legumes are habitat-forming species in many communities. Thus, some types of acacias dominate in African and Australian savannas, and woody forms are part of tropical and subtropical rainforests.

Eating

Since ancient times, in many agricultural regions of the world, they have been growing peas, beans, lentils, beans, rich in proteins and carbohydrates. Centuries-old culture in East Asia and America is soybean, the seeds of which contain 45% protein and 24% oil. Milk, cheese, flour, and candy are made from soybeans. In our country, soybeans are grown on Far East and in the Krasnodar region. Legumes include peanut, or peanut. The seeds of its beans contain up to 50% excellent oil.

Licorice is used in food production, for example in the production of halva.

Licorice smooth has long been used in folk medicine. Theophrastus recommended licorice for respiratory diseases and asthma. In China, it is valued as highly as ginseng root. In Tibetan medicine, licorice root is included in many medicines.

Agriculture

Important forage legumes and For Agriculture — clover, vetch, china, alfalfa, since they produce high-quality hay. Some legumes, for example lupine, used as green manure: In summer it is mowed and plowed into the soil.

Ornamental legumes

Widely known and decorative types beans - lupine, sweet pea, wisteria.

The numerous family of Moths is distributed in latitudes with temperate or tropical climates. This includes green plants with recognizable flowers.

Description and meaning

Papilaceae or Legumes are a subfamily and family of angiosperms or flowering plants. They belong to the class Dicotyledons. There are about 18 thousand species. Annual (beans) and perennial (clover) herbaceous representatives of the family are common. Shrubs (yellow acacia) and trees (African rosewood) are less common.

Rice. 1. Yellow acacia.

Some types of leguminous plants are cultivated as food or raw materials for medicines. Examples of plants for different needs:

• food - use in the human diet - lentils, beans, peas, beans, soybeans, peanuts;
• feed - feed for livestock - clover, lupine, alfalfa, vetch, camel thorn;
• medicinal - production of mixtures and tablets for cough, hypertension, constipation, helminthic infestation - licorice, yellow clover, spherofisa, thermopsis;
• technical - production of varnishes, oils, glue (gorse), as well as insecticides (derris, sophora, longocarpus);
• decorative - improvement of residential areas - acacia, wisteria, sweet peas.

Many members of the family are excellent honey plants; the nectar produces aromatic honey.

Morphology

Characteristic hallmark moth plants - the corolla is of the moth type. The petals are partially fused, form an asymmetrical corolla and resemble a moth or boat. There is a sail or flag (large petal), oars or wings (side) and a boat or keel (fused). This corolla arrangement protects the flower from ineffective pollinators - flies and butterflies. To get to the nectar, you need to move the petals apart, and stronger insects, such as bumblebees, can do this. When collecting nectar, the insect sits on a boat and rubs its abdomen against horizontally located stamens, collecting pollen.

Rice. 2. Flower shaped like a moth.

Detailed characteristics of all parts of the moth plant are presented in the table.

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Rice. 3. Leaves with tendrils.

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria penetrating from the soil form nodules on the roots. Bacteria come from roots organic matter and water and supply the plant with nitrogen. It is thanks to bacteria that moths are saturated with plant protein and, after dying, are an excellent nitrogenous fertilizer.