A legume is a plant Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. About 350,000 species of plants, defined as seed plants, bryophytes, ferns and fern allies, are estimated to exist currently. As of 2004, some 287,655 species had been in the family Fabaceae Fabaceae or Leguminosae is a large and economically important family of flowering plants, which is commonly known as the legume family, pea family, bean family or pulse family. The name 'Fabaceae' comes from the defunct genus Faba, now included into Vicia. Leguminosae is an older name still considered valid, and refers to the typical fruit of (or Leguminosae), or a fruit The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds, and the presence of seeds indicates that a structure is most likely a fruit, though not all seeds come from fruits of these specific plants. A 'legume' fruit is a simple dry fruit The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds, and the presence of seeds indicates that a structure is most likely a fruit, though not all seeds come from fruits that develops from a simple carpel The gynoecium is a term with several meanings in botanical usage. In reference to mosses, liverworts and hornworts, "gynoecium" refers to a cluster of archegonia and any associated modified leaves or stems present on a gametophyte shoot. The more common use of gynoecium, however, is to refer to the ovule-producing part of a flower. The and usually dehisces (opens along a seam) on two sides. A common name for this type of fruit is a "pod", although pod is also applied to a few other fruit types, such as vanilla Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla native to Mexico. Etymologically, vanilla derives from the Spanish word "vainilla", little pod. Originally cultivated by Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican peoples, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing both the spice and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s. Well-known legumes include alfalfa Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop. In the UK, Australia, and New Zealand it is known as lucerne and as lucerne grass in south Asia, clover Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes on mountains in the tropics. They are small annual, biennial,, peas A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the legume Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Although it is botanically a fruit, it is treated as a vegetable in cooking. The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the Fabaceae such as the pigeon pea , the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), and the seeds from, beans Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed, lentils The lentil or daal or dal , considered a type of pulse, is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about 15 inches (38 cm) tall and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each, lupins Lupin, often spelled lupine in North America, is the common name for members of the genus Lupinus in the legume family . The genus comprises between 200-600 species, with major centers of diversity in South America and western North America - subgen.Platycarpos and subgen. Lupinus - in the Mediterranean region and Africa, mesquite Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in Northern Mexico and the United States from the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas up to southwestern Kansas and from southeastern California and southwestern Utah to the southern limits of the Sonoran desert. Mesquite trees are also found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico, carob The carob tree , Ceratonia siliqua, is a species of flowering evergreen shrub or tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the Mediterranean region. It is cultivated for its edible seed pods. Carobs are also known as St. John's bread because, according to tradition of some Christians, St. John the Baptist subsisted on them in the, and peanuts The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume family (Fabaceae) native to South America, Mexico and Central America. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing to 30 to 50 cm (1 to 1.5 ft) tall. The leaves are opposite, pinnate with four leaflets (two opposite pairs; no terminal leaflet), each leaflet 1 to 7 cm (⅜ to 2¾ in) long and 1 to 3.

History

The term legume is derived from the Latin Latin is an Italic language historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe. Romance languages such as Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, Spanish, and Portuguese are descended from Latin, while many others, especially European languages, including word legumen (with the same meaning as the English term), which is in turn believed to come from the verb legere "to gather." English borrowed the term from the French French is a Romance language spoken, around the world, by more than 100 million people as a first language (mother tongue), by 190 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 54 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France, where the language "légume," which, however, has a wider meaning in the modern language and refers to any kind of vegetable A vegetable is an edible plant or part of a plants other than a sweet fruit or seed. The word is not scientific, however, but instead is largely based on culinary and cultural tradition. Thus the application of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective. For example, some people consider mushrooms to be vegetables while others consider them a; the English word legume being translated in French by the word légumineuse.

The history of legumes Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed is tied in closely with that of human civilization, appearing early in Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it accounts for 60% of the world's current human population. It is located chiefly in the eastern and northern hemispheres, the Americas The Americas, or America, are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America. The Americas cover 8.3% of the Earth's total surface area (the common bean The common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, is an herbaceous annual plant domesticated independently in ancient Mesoamerica and the Andes, and now grown worldwide for its edible bean, popular both dry and as a green bean. The leaf is occasionally used as a leaf vegetable, and the straw is used for fodder. Botanically, the common bean is classified as a, several varieties), and Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast. Europe is washed upon to the north by the Arctic Ocean and (broad beans) by 6,000 BC, where they became a staple, essential for supplementing protein where there was not enough meat. Also included are some grains in this grouping

Fixation of nitrogen in the soil

Legume plants are notable for their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen Nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen is taken from its relatively inert molecular form in the atmosphere and converted into nitrogen compounds (such as ammonia, nitrate and nitrogen dioxide). This is an essential process for life because fixed nitrogen is needed to make nucleotides which are needed to make DNA and also to make amino, thanks to a symbiotic The term symbiosis commonly describes close and often long-term interactions between different biological species. The term was first used in 1879 by the German mycologist Heinrich Anton de Bary, who defined it as "the living together of unlike organisms." relationship with certain bacteria The bacteria [bækˈtɪərɪə] (singular: bacterium)[α] are a large group of unicellular microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria are ubiquitous in every habitat on Earth, growing in soil, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, water, and deep known as rhizobia Rhizobia are soil bacteria that fix nitrogen after becoming established inside root nodules of legumes (Fabaceae). Rhizobia require a plant host; they cannot independently fix nitrogen. Morphologically, they are generally gram negative, motile, non-sporulating rods found in root nodules Under nitrogen limiting conditions, plants from the pea family Fabaceae form a symbiotic relationship with a host-specific strain of bacteria known as rhizobia of these plants. The ability to form this symbiosis reduces fertilizer Fertilizers are chemical compounds applied to promote plant and fruit growth. Fertilizers are usually applied either through the soil or, by foliar feeding (for uptake through leaves) costs for farmers and gardeners who grow legumes, and allows legumes to be used in a crop rotation Crop rotation or Crop sequencing is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons for various benefits such as to avoid the build up of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped. Crop rotation also seeks to balance the fertility demands of various crops to to replenish soil that has been depleted of nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere.

Legume seed and foliage have a comparatively higher protein Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain. The amino acids in a polymer chain are joined together by the peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid residues. The sequence of amino acids in a protein is defined by the sequence of a gene, which is encoded in the genetic code. In content than non-legume material, probably due to the additional nitrogen that legumes receive through nitrogen-fixation symbiosis. This high protein content makes them desirable crops in agriculture Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and stratified societies. The study of agriculture is.

Uses by humans

Farmed legumes can belong to many agricultural classes, including forage Forage is plant material eaten by grazing livestock. Historically the term forage has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially as hay or silage, grain Cereals, grains or cereal grains, are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their fruit seeds (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis) - the endocarp, germ and bran. Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple crops. In their natural, blooms, pharmaceutical/industrial, fallow/green manure, and timber species. Most commercially farmed species fill two or more roles simultaneously.

Forage legumes are of two broad types. Some, like alfalfa Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop. In the UK, Australia, and New Zealand it is known as lucerne and as lucerne grass in south Asia, clover Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes on mountains in the tropics. They are small annual, biennial,, vetch (Vicia Vicia is a genus of about 140 species of flowering plants commonly known as vetches. It is in the legume family . Member species are native to Europe, Asia and Africa. Some other genera of their subfamily Faboideae also have names containing "vetch", for example the vetchlings (Lathyrus) or the milk-vetches (Astragalus). The Broad Bean (), stylo (Stylosanthes), or Arachis Arachis is a genus of about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the pea family , native to South America. At least one species, the Peanut (Arachis hypogaea), is a major food crop species of global importance; some of the other species are cultivated for food to a small extent in South America. Other species such as A. pintoi, are sown in pasture Pasture is land with low-growing vegetation cover used for grazing of livestock as part of a farm, or in ranching or other unenclosed pastoral systems. Prior to the advent of factory farming, pasture was the primary source of food for grazing animals such as cattle and horses. It is still used extensively, particularly in arid regions where and grazed by livestock. Other forage legumes such as Leucaena Leucaena is a genus of about 24 species of leguminous trees and shrubs, distributed from Texas in the United States to Peru. It belongs to subfamily Mimosoideae of the legume family Fabaceae or Albizia Albizia is a genus of about 150 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the Subfamily Mimosoideae of the legume family, Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Central, South, and southern North America and Australia, but mostly in the Old World tropics. Some species are are woody shrub or tree species that are either broken down by livestock or regularly cut by humans to provide livestock feed.

Grain legumes are cultivated for their seeds A seed ( /ˈsiːd/ ), referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant. The formation of the seed completes, and are also called pulses A pulse is an annual leguminous crop yielding from one to twelve grains or seeds of variable size, shape, and color within a pod. Pulses are used for food and animal feed. The term "pulse", as used by the Food and Agricultural Organization , is reserved for crops harvested solely for the dry grain. This excludes green beans and green. The seeds are used for human and animal consumption or for the production of oils for industrial uses. Grain legumes include beans Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed, lentils The lentil or daal or dal , considered a type of pulse, is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about 15 inches (38 cm) tall and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each, lupins Lupin, often spelled lupine in North America, is the common name for members of the genus Lupinus in the legume family . The genus comprises between 200-600 species, with major centers of diversity in South America and western North America - subgen.Platycarpos and subgen. Lupinus - in the Mediterranean region and Africa, peas A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the legume Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Although it is botanically a fruit, it is treated as a vegetable in cooking. The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the Fabaceae such as the pigeon pea , the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), and the seeds from, and peanuts The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume family (Fabaceae) native to South America, Mexico and Central America. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing to 30 to 50 cm (1 to 1.5 ft) tall. The leaves are opposite, pinnate with four leaflets (two opposite pairs; no terminal leaflet), each leaflet 1 to 7 cm (⅜ to 2¾ in) long and 1 to 3.^[1]

Bloom legume species include species such as lupin Lupin, often spelled lupine in North America, is the common name for members of the genus Lupinus in the legume family . The genus comprises between 200-600 species, with major centers of diversity in South America and western North America - subgen.Platycarpos and subgen. Lupinus - in the Mediterranean region and Africa, which are farmed commercially for their blooms as well as being popular in gardens worldwide.

Industrial farmed legumes include Indigofera and Acacia species, which are cultivated for dye and natural gum production respectively.

Fallow/green manure legume species are cultivated to be tilled back into the soil in order to exploit the high nitrogen levels found in most legumes. Numerous legumes are farmed for this purpose including Leucaena, Cyamopsis, and Sesbania species.

Various legume species are farmed for timber production worldwide, including numerous Acacia species and Castanospermum australe.

See also

• Pulse (legume)

References

1. ^ The gene bank and breeding of grain legumes (lupine, vetch, soya, and beah) / B.S. Kurlovich and S.I. Repyev (Eds.), - St. Petersburg, The N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry, 1995, 438p. - (Theoretical basis of plant breeding. V.111)

External links

• AEP - European association for grain legume research
• Lupins - Geography, classification, genetic resources and breeding
• ILDIS - International Legume Database & Information Service
• Legume classes from LegumeChef.com
• Bioversity International The significance of Vavilov’s scientific expeditions and ideas for development and use of legume genetic resources

Categories: Legumes | Plant morphology | Vegan cuisine | Vegetarian cuisine

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