Fabaceae

Family name from Faba, the first plant named in the family. This family is sometimes treated as the subfamily Faboideae/Papilionoideae in the superfamily Fabaceae. Fabaceae s.lat. is also known by the old and alternative name of Leguminosae. Widespread, habit various, climbers are recorded as twining either clockwise or anticlockwise. Leaves are simple or compound, alternate or opposite. Flowers have a characteristic pea-shape, here the standard encloses the wings when in bud, with the keel petals also enclosed; stamens 10, either 10 free, 9 fused + 1 or 10 fused rarely 5+5. Fruit chiefly a pod or legume, sometimes breaking into 1-seeded segments.