Description
Family Fabaceae
The Fabaceae are herbs, vines , shrubs , trees , and lianas found in both temperate and tropical areas. They comprise one of the largest families of flowering plants , numbering 630 genera and 18,000 species. The leaves are stipulate , nearly always alternate, and range from bipinnately or palmately compound to simple . The petiole base is commonly enlarged into a pulvinus that commonly functions in orientation of the leaves (sometimes very responsively, as in the sensitive plant, Mimosa pudica). The flowers are usually bisexual , actinomorphic to zygomorphic, slightly to strongly perigynous, and commonly in racemes , spikes, or heads . The perianth commonly consists of a calyx and corolla of 5 segments each. The androecium consists of commonly 1- many stamens (most commonly 10), distinct or variously united , sometimes some of them reduced to staminodes. The pistil is simple, often stipitate , comprising a single style and stigma, and a superior ovary with one locule containing 2-many marginal ovules. The fruit is usually a legume, sometimes a samara, loment, follicle, indehiscent pod, achene, drupe, or berry. The seeds often have a hard coat with hourglass-shaped cells , and sometimes bear a u-shaped line called a pleurogram. [Carr]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Magnoliophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 Ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Flowering Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
()
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
()
- Brongniart, 1843
- Dicotyledons
- Subclass:
Rosidae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Subclass:
Rosidae
(
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Magnoliophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Unambiguous Synonyms
- Abrus melanospermus suffruticosus
- Abrus pulchellus Wall. ex Thwaites subsp. suffruticosus (Boutique) Verdc.
- Abrus suffruticosus Boutique
Similar Species
Members of the genus Abrus
There are approximately 43 species in this genus:
A. aureus · A. aureus aureus · A. aureus littoralis · A. baladensis · A. bottae · A. canescens · A. cantonensis · A. precatorius subsp. africanus · A. diversifoliatus · A. diversifoliolatus · A. fruticulosus · A. gawenensis · A. gracilis · A. laevigatus · A. longibracteatus · A. lusorius · A. madagascariensis · A. melanospermus subsp. suffruticosus · A. melanospermus subsp. tenuiflorus · A. melanospermus suffruticosus · A. melanospermus tenuiflorus · A. parvifolius · A. precatorius (Black-Eyed Susan) · A. precatorius africanus · A. precatorius precatorius · A. precatorius subsp. africanus · A. pulchellum · A. pulchellus · A. pulchellus cantoniensis · A. pulchellus mollis · A. pulchellus pulchellus · A. pulchellus suffruticosus · A. pulchellus tenuiflorus · A. pulchellus var. tenuiflorus · A. repens · A. sambiranensis · A. schimperi · A. schimperi africanus · A. schimperi oblongus · A. schimperi schimperi · A. somalensis · A. stictospermus · A. wittei
More Info
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Notes
Contributors
- MBLWHOI Library: Universal Biological Index and Organizer. uBio.org accessed August 13, 2008.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 9047999
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15934424
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1015485-1
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 3496845
