Trees, shrubs, climbers or herbs. Leaf rarely simple, mostly compound, unifoliolate, pinnately or palmately compound; stipels sometimes present. Inflorescence solitary, racemose, paniculate or umbellate, capitate or spicate. Flower zygomorphic. Calyx gamosepalous. Corolla polypetalous or sometimes united, vexillary imbricate, differentiated into the upper bigger outermost petal or vexillum, the two lateral wings, and the 2 innermost, sometimes united along the margin, forming the carina or keel. Stamens 10, rarely fewer, free or fused, mostly the adaxial stamen free or nearly so and the 9 united together, anthers uniform or dimorphic, basifixed or dorsifixed. Ovary unicarpellary, mostly unilocular, many-1 ovules on the adaxial suture. Fruit dehiscent by 2 or 1 sutures or indehiscent, or jointed and breaking up into 1-seeded parts. Seed sometimes arillate, with or without endosperm.
A large family with c. 480 genera and c. 12000 species; cosmopolitan in distribution.
List of tribes and genera
Tribe 1-Sophoreae Sophora, Castanospermum
Tribe 2-Podalyrieae-Thermopsis
Tribe 3-Genisteae-Spartium, Laburnum
Tribe 4-LotononideaeLotononis
Tribe 5-Lupineae-Lupinus, Argyrolobium
Tribe 6-Crotalarieae-Goniogyna, Crotalaria
Tribe 7-Robinieae-Robinia
Tribe 8-Millettieae-Millettia, Wisteria
Tribe 9-Lonchocarpeae-Pongamia, Derris
Tribe 10-Dalbergieae-Dalbergia
Tribe 11-Tephrosieae-Tephrosia
Tribe 12-Indigofereae-Indigofera, Cyamopsis
Tribe 13-Sesbanieae-Sesbania
Tribe 14-Galegeae-Galega
Tribe 15-ColuteaeColutea
Tribe 16-Astragaleae-Caragana, Chesneya, Gueldenstaedtia, Astragalus, Oxytropis, Glycyrrhiza
Tribe 17-Psoralieae-Amorpha, Psoralea
Tribe 18-Cajaneae-Cajanus, Atylosia, Flemingia, Rhynchosia, Paracalyx
Tribe 19-Diocleae-Pueraria, Canavalia
Tribe 20-Erythrineae-Erythrina, Butea, Mucuna
Tribe 21-Phaseoleeae-Phaseolus, Vigna, Macroptilium, Lablab, Macrotyloma
Tribe 22-Glycineae-Clitoria, Dumasia, Glycine, Shuteria, Teramnus
Tribe 23-Abreae-Abrus
Tribe 24-Vicieae-Cicer, Vicia, Lens, Lathyrus, Pisum
Tribe 25-Ononideae- Ononis
Tribe 26-Trifolieae-Melilotus, Trigonella, Medicago, Trifolium
Tribe 27-Loteae-Lotus, Securigera
Tribe 28-Coronilleae- Hippocrepis
Tribe 29-Hedysareae-Stracheya, Hedysarum, Onobrychis, Taverniera, Ebenus, Alhagi
Tribe 30-Aeschynomeneae-Smithia, Aeschynomene
Tribe 31-Desmodieae-Ougeinia, Desmodium, Uraria, Alysicarpus
Tribe 32-Stylosantheae-Zornia, Arachis
Tribe 33-Lespedezeae-Lespedeza, Campylotropis
Acknowledgements: I am grateful to the authorities of the following herbaria for herbarium and library facilities: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; British Museum (Natural History), London; Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh; Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna; National Herbarium, Rawalpindi; Pakistan Forest Research Institute, Peshawar and the herbarium of PCSIR, Peshawar. I am indebted to Dr. R. K. Brummitt, Dr. B.L. Burtt, Dr. R.D. Meikle, Dr. R. Polhill, Dr. W.T. Stearn, Mr. C. C. Townsend and Dr. V. Verdcourt for discussing various problems from time to time and for their advice and suggestions. My thanks are due to Mr. Abdul Ghafoor, Dr. M. Qaiser, Dr. Sultanul Abedin and Mr. Mohammad Niaz for checking the manuscript and for seeing it through the press. I am grateful to Miss P. Halliday for kindly accepting the extremely arduous task of checking the proof. The financial assistance, received from the United States Department of Agriculture under P.L. 480, is thankfully acknowledged.
