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.
