Herbs, shrubs, vines or trees, with alternate mostly compound stipulate leaves, and irregular (papilionaceous) perfect or sometimes polygamo-dioecious flowers, mainly in spikes, heads, racemes or panicles. Calyx 4-5-toothed, or 4-5-cleft, the teeth or lobes unequal or equal; sometimes 2-lipped. Petals more or less united, or separate, perigynous or hypogynous, usually consisting of a broad upper one (standard, banner), two lateral ones (wings), and two front ones more or less united (forming the keel); the standard encloses the wings in the bud. Stamens monadelphous; diadelphous, or sometimes separate, 10 in most of the genera, sometimes 9, rarely 5. Pistil 1, simple, superior; ovary mainly 1-celled, sometimes 2-celled by the intrusion of the sutures, or several-celled by cross-partitions; style simple; ovules 1-many; anatropous or amphitropous. Fruit a legume, 1 - many-seeded, dehiscent into 2 valves, or indehiscent, in one tribe a loment. Seeds mostly without endosperm; cotyledons thick.

Genera about 325, species over 5000, most abundant in temperate and warm regions; known also as Papilionaceae and Phaseolaceae, and included by some authors in the Leguminosae.

* The 10 stamens distinct.

Leaves pinnate.

Tribe 1.

Sophoreae.

Leaves digitate (in ours 3-foliolate), or simple.

Tribe 2.

PODALYRIEAE.

** The stamens monadelphous or diadelphous.

Herbs, shrubs, woody vines or trees, the leaves not tendril-bearing.

Pod not a loment, 2-valved or indehiscent.

Foliage not glandular-dotted (except in Glycyrrhiza, which has many-seeded pods).

Stamens monadelphous; anthers of 2 kinds.

Tribe 3.

Genisteae.

Stamens diadelphous (except in Ononis); anthers all alike.

Leaves, in our species, 3-foliolate, rarely 1-foliolate.

Leaflets denticulate.

Tribe 4.

Trifolieae.

Leaflets entire.

Tribe 5.

LOTEAE.

Leaves pinnately several-many-foliolate (except in Orophaca)

Tribe 7.

Galegeae.

Foliage glandular-dotted; pod indehiscent, 1-2-seeded; herbs.

Tribe 6.

PSORALEAE.

Pod a loment; herbs.

Tribe 8.

Hedysareae.

Herbaceous vines, or herbs; leaves evenly pinnate, with tendrils.

Tribe 9.

VlCIEAE.

Vines, ours herbaceous, or herbs; leaves without tendrils.

Tribe 10.

Phaseoleae.

Tribe 1. Sophoreae.

Our species herbs; flowers racemed.

1.

Sophora.

Trees; flowers panicled.

2.

Cladrastis.

Tribe 2. Podalyrieae.

Ovary sessile, or nearly so; pod flat in our species.

3.

Thermopsis.

Ovary distinctly stipitate; pod inflated.

4.

Baptisia.

Tribe 3. Genisteae.

Herbs, with simple or 5-11-foliolate leaves.

Leaves simple; pod inflated.

5.

Crotalaria.

Leaves 5-11-foliolate; pod flattened.

6.

Lupinus.

Shrubs with 1-3-foliolate leaves.

Calyx divided into 2 lips; leaves very prickly.

7.

Ulex.

Calyx cleft into 2 lips to about the middle.

Calyx-teeth long.

8.

Genista.

Calyx-teeth short

9.

Cytisus.

Tribe 4. Trifolieae.

Flowers spiked, or capitate; pods curved, or coiled.

10.

Medic ago.

Flowers in long racemes; pods coriaceous.

11.

Melilotus.

Flowers capitate or umbelled; pods straight, membranous.

12.

Trifolium.

Tribe 5. Loteae.

Filaments diadelphous; pods dehiscent.

Leaves 5-foliolate.

13.

Lotus.

Leaves pinnate; leaflets sometimes only 1 or 3.

14.

Hosackia.

Filaments monadelphous; pods indehiscent or nearly so.

15.

Anthyllis.

Tribe 6. Psoraleae.

Leaves digitately 3-5-foliolate, or pinnately 3-foliolate.

16.

Psoralea.

Leaves pinnately 5-many-foliolate.

Stamens 10 or 9, monadelphous. at least at the base.

Corolla of only 1 petal (the standard).

17.

Amorpha.

Corolla of 5 petals, the wings and keel united to the filament-tube.

18.

Parosela.

Stamens only 5, monadelphous.

19.

Petalostemum.

Tribe 7. Galegeae.

Standard very broad, ovate or orbicular.

Herbs; leaves odd-pinnate.

Pod 4-angled in our species.

20.

Indigofera.

Pod flat.

21.

Cracca.

High-climbing woody vines.

22.

Kraunhia.

Trees or shrubs.

23.

Robinia.

Herbs; leaves evenly pinnate.

24.

Sesban.

Standard narrow; our species all herbs.

Pod not prickly; foliage not glandular-punctate.

Keel of the corolla blunt.

Leaves pinnate, or simple.

Pods not flattened, swollen, or one or both sutures intruded.

Pods fleshy, becoming spongy, 2-celled, indehiscent.

25.

Geoprumnon.

Pods not fleshy, dehiscent (epicarp slightly fleshy in Astragalus pectinatus).

Pods not much swollen, leathery or papery.

26.

Astragalus.

Pods much inflated, membranous, 1-celled.

27.

Phaca.

Pods flat, both sutures prominent externally.

Leaves not bristle-tipped; pods several-seeded.

28.

Homalobus.

Leaves bristle-tipped; pods only 1-2-seeded.

29.

Kentrophyta.

Leaves 3-foliolate.

30.

Orophaca.

Keel of the corolla acute.

31.

Oxytropis.

Pod prickly; foliage glandular-punctate.

32.

Glycyrrhiza.

Tribe 8. Hedysareae.

Leaves odd-pinnate.

Flowers purplish, umbellate.

33.

Coronilla.

Flowers purple or white, racemose.

34.

Hedysarum,

Flowers yellow, small.

35.

AEschynomcne.

Leaves 4-foliolate or 2-foliolate.

36.

Zornia.

Leaves 3-foliolate, the terminal leaflets stalked.

Flowers yellow.

37.

Stylosanthes.

Flowers purple, blue or white.

Pod of several joints; leaflets stipellate.

38.

Meibomia.

Pod of 1 or 2 joints; leaflets not stipellate.

39.

Lespedesa.

Tribe 9. Vicieae.

Style slender, with a tuft of hairs at the summit.

40.

Vicia.

Style flattened, bearded along the inner side.

41.

Lathyrus.

Tribe 10. Phaseoleae.

Style bearded along the inner side; rachis not thickened at the insertion of the flowers; keel of

corolla not curved nor coiled.

42.

Clitoria.

Style glabrous, or pubescent below; keel of corolla not curved nor coiled.

43.

Bradburya.

Standard spurred at the base.

Standard not spurred.

Flowers blue, purple, purplish, or white.

Leaves odd-pinnate; leaflets 5-7.

44.

Glycine.

Leaves 3-foliolate, rarely 1-foliolate.

Calyx tubular, not bracteolate.

45.

Falcata.

Calyx short, bracteolate.

46.

Galactia.

Flowers yellow.

47.

Dolicholus.

Style bearded along the inner side; rachis thickened at the insertion of the flowers.

Keel of the corolla spiraily coiled; flowers racemed.

48.

Phaseolus.

Keel of the corolla strongly incurved; 'flowers purple, capitate.

49.

Strophostyles.

Keel of the corolla short, slightly incurved; flowers capitate.

50.

Vigna.