Agriculturally & Economically Important Legumes

Martin F. Wojciechowski
A large number of legume species are cultivated worldwide as ornamentals (in gardens, as shade trees),
used as living fences and firebreaks, as soil binders, green manures, fodder for livestock, forage for honey
bees, food for humans, in agroforestry and reforestation (for nitrogen fixation), as pulp for paper
production, fuelwoods, timber, and as sources of chemicals (e.g., dyes, tannins), oils (industrial, food,
aromatherapy), and medicines. Many of the more common ones are listed below. For more information, see
Allen and Allen (1981), Duke (1992), and Graham and Vance (2003), or check out some of the WWW links
provided below.

subfamily Caesalpinioideae

Bauhinia (orn.; Neotropics); Caesalpinia (dyes, orn., timber; tropics); Ceratonia (carob; E
Mediterranean); Cercis (orn.; East Asia, North America) Gleditsia, honey locust (orn., timber;
eastern North America and South America, East Asia); Gymnocladus (timber; SE Asia); Parkinsonia,
palo verdes (orn.; Americas); Delonix (orn.; East Africa to SE Asia); Copaifera, Daniella,
and Guibourtia (copals; Africa, South America); Tamarindus (tamarind; tropical Africa to Asia)

subfamily Mimosoideae

Mimosodieae clade: Acacia (source of gum Arabic, tan bark, wattles, timber; subtropical to tropical
Africa, Americas, Asia, Australia); Calliandra (orn., agroforestry, fodder, fuelwood;
Americas); Inga (agroforestry, fuelwood, edible fruits, orn., timber; Meso and South
America; Mimosa (orn., fodder, fuels, medicine; Neotropics); (Prosopis (mesquites, stock feed;
Americas, West Indies)

subfamily Papilionoideae

Dalbergioid s.l. clade: Arachis, peanut (South America); Dalbergia, timbers (tropics)

Genistoid clade: Lupinus (lupins, human & stock food, green manures, orn.; Mediterranean,
Americas)

Hologalegina: Astragalus (milk vetch, locoweed, gum tragacanth, fodders, teas, medicinals;
cosmopolitan); Carmichaelia (orn., brooms New Zealand); Cicer (chick pea, garbanzo bean;
southern Europe, Mediterranean); Glycyrrhiza (liquorice; Eurasia, North
America); Hedysarum (sweet vetch; Eurasia, North America); Lathyrus (sweet pea, fodder, green
manure; Eurasia, North America); Lens (lentil; SW Asia); Pisum (garden pea; southern
Europe); Melilotus (sweetclovers, dicumarol; temperate Eurasia, North
Africa); Medicago & Trigonella (alfalfa, fenugreek, honey, medics, bur clovers; Mediterranean to
central Asia); Onobrychis (herb sainfoin; Mediterranean, central Asia); Oxytropis (locoweed, stock
toxins, orn.; temperate Eurasia, North America); Trifolium (clovers, forage, honey; Old and New
Worlds); Vicia (vetch, broad/fava bean; Mediterranean, SW Asia); Wisteria (orn.; East Asia, North
America)

Millettioid s.l. clade: Cajanus (pigeon pea); Canavalia (jack bean;

pantropical); Derris and Lonchocarpus (rotenones - poisons and insecticides; tropics, southern
hemisphere); Milletia (orn.; tropical Africa and Asia); Glycine (soybean, oilseeds; East Asia,
Australia, first records from China 2838 B.C.); Indigofera (dye indigo; tropical Africa,
America); Phaseolus (tepary bean, lima bean, navy/kidney/snap bean; Central to South
America); Vigna (cowpea, black eye pea, mung bean; central Africa, SE Asia); Pachyrhizus (yam
bean; Central to west tropical South America); Pueraria (kudzu; Asia)
 Robinioid clade: Lotus (trefoil, forage, green manure, orn.; north temperate); Olneya (ironwood,
food, forage, wood, orn.; southwest North America); Robinia (orn., timber; subtropical North
America); Sesbania (forage, agroforestry, green manure, fiber, food & medicine; North & Central
America, Africa to Australia)

Information on the Internet

Forage Resources. Univ. of Wisconsin - Extension office. Describes a number of legume forage
crops.

Texas Toxic Plants Entry. Description of "Guajillo" (Acacia berlandieri) and its toxic effects when
browsed by livestock.

References

Allen, O. N., and E. K. Allen. 1981. The Leguminosae, A Source Book of Characteristics, Uses, and Nodulation. The
University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, USA.
Duke, J. A. 1992. Handbook of Legumes of Economic Importance. Plenum Press, New York, USA.
Graham, P. H., and C. P. Vance. 2003. Legumes: importance and constraints to greater use. Plant Physiology 131: 872-877.