Fabaceae

Also known as Papilionaceae, Leguminosae, legume family, pea family, bean family

Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is 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.

OverviewAI-generated

Fabaceae is a family within the kingdom Plantae and phylum Tracheophyta. It belongs to the class Magnoliopsida and the order Fabales. The taxon is an accepted family with a scientific name of Fabaceae. It is also known by common names including Vlinderbloemenfamilie, 콩과, วงศ์ถั่ว, 豆科, and ärtväxter. The family is distinct from Caesalpinioideae and produces silique fruit types.

The habitat of Fabaceae includes marine, brackish, and freshwater environments. It is a source of beans and mung bean sprouts. The taxon has been described in sources such as Pauly–Wissowa, Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition, and New International Encyclopedia. It appears in the Commons category Fabaceae and is on the focus list of Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4.

Records indicate 35,778,212 occurrences and 102,181 PubMed entries. There are 28,583 iDigBio records from institutions including UACH, CICY, and ECOSUR in Mexico. The family is referenced by 7,230 other encyclopedia articles.

Synthesized by Vinony from 43 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, PubMed, Gbif Occ, Plants of the World, WoRMS, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

ärtväxter

Fabaceae

FAMILY

KingdomPlantae
PhylumTracheophyta
ClassMagnoliopsida
OrderFabales
FamilyFabaceae

Habitatmarine, brackish, freshwater

Observations recorded35,778,212

豆科（学名：Fabaceae，保留名：Leguminosae）植物屬於真雙子葉植物豆目，约有727属19,325种。為被子植物中相當龐大的一科，占了已知開花植物物種的7%。部分物種在經濟上具有重要地位，該科成員形態上包含喬木、灌木，也有多年生或一年生草本植物。該科成員最顯著的特徵是會結豆莢。成員具複葉及托葉。該科成員分布廣泛，為目前已知陸生植物中第三大科，僅次於蘭科及菊科。目前該科已知有765屬，約19,500餘種。其中最大的五屬分別為黃芪屬（Astragalus，逾3,000種）、相思樹屬（Acacia，逾1000種）、槐蓝属（Indigofera，約700種）、豬屎豆屬（Crotalaria，約700種）、含羞草屬（Mimosa，約500種），這五大屬占了該科物種的四分之一。豆科也是非洲及美洲熱帶雨林和沙漠氣候中，最常見的科別。系統分類學分析認為該科最接近同屬於豆目的远志科、海人树科，以及皂皮樹科。人類利用豆科植物已經有數千年的歷史，且與人類演化具有密切關聯。豆科的作物包含大豆（Glycine max）、菜豆（Phaseolus）、豌豆（Pisum sativum）等等。

via GBIF · Kew POWO

Museum specimens

Specimen records: 28,583
With media: 12,057
Family: Fabaceae
Collections: UACH, CICY, ECOSUR
Recorded in: Mexico

iDigBio →

Research

102,181 papers

Exploring the Phytochemicals and Anti-Cancer Potential of the Members of Fabaceae Family: A Comprehensive Review.ReviewMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Usman M, Khan WR, Yousaf N et al.DOI: 10.3390/molecules27123863
Legumes.ReviewCurrent biology : CB · 2025Hughes C, Ringelberg JJ, Bruneau ADOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.049
Biochemical versatility and stress modulation: UGTs in the Fabaceae family.ReviewPlanta · 2025Hussain S, Verma B, Devi R et al.DOI: 10.1007/s00425-025-04805-y
Species of the Sections Hedysarum and Multicaulia of the Genus Hedysarum (Fabaceae): Taxonomy, Distribution, Chromosomes, Genomes, and Phylogeny.ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024Yurkevich OY, Samatadze TE, Zoshchuk SA et al.DOI: 10.3390/ijms25158489
Five Fabaceae Karyotype and Phylogenetic Relationship Analysis Based on Oligo-FISH for 5S rDNA and (AG(3)T(3))(3).Genes · 2022He Z, Zhang W, Luo X et al.DOI: 10.3390/genes13050768
Hydrocarbon phytoremediation in the family Fabaceae--a review.ReviewInternational journal of phytoremediation · 2011Hall J, Soole K, Bentham RDOI: 10.1080/15226514.2010.495143
Ethnomedicinal Practices of the Fabaceae Family in Tanzania: A Systematic Review.ReviewTheScientificWorldJournal · 2026Kacholi DSDOI: 10.1155/tswj/6918847
The genus Machaerium (Fabaceae): taxonomy, phytochemistry, traditional uses and biological activities.ReviewNatural product research · 2015Amen YM, Marzouk AM, Zaghloul MG et al.DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2014.1003062

via PubMed

~29 min read

Encyclopedic overview

27 sections

Contents

Etymology
Description
Growth habit
Leaves
Roots
Flowers
Fruit
Physiology and biochemistry
Evolution, phylogeny and taxonomy
Evolution
Phylogeny and taxonomy
Phylogeny
Taxonomy
Ecology
Distribution and habitat
Biological nitrogen fixation
Chemical ecology
Economic and cultural importance
Food and forage
Industrial uses
Natural gums
Dyes
Ornamentals
Emblematic Fabaceae
Image gallery
References
External links

The five largest genera of the family are Astragalus (over 3,000 species), Acacia (over 1,000 species), Indigofera (around 700 species), Crotalaria (around 700 species), and Mimosa (around 400 species), which constitute about a quarter of all legume species. The known legume species amount to about 7% of flowering plant species. Fabaceae is the most common family found in tropical rainforests and dry forests of the Americas and Africa.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Fabaceae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.