Leguminosae, family Leguminosae, Fabaceae, family Fabaceae, legume family, pea family(noun)

a large family of trees, shrubs, vines, and herbs bearing bean pods; divided for convenience into the subfamilies Caesalpiniaceae; Mimosaceae; Papilionaceae

Fabaceae

The large family of plants characterized by pods. Some are edible and some cause LATHYRISM or FAVISM and other forms of poisoning. Other species yield useful materials like gums from ACACIA and various LECTINS like PHYTOHEMAGGLUTININS from PHASEOLUS. Many of them harbor NITROGEN FIXATION bacteria on their roots.