Fabaceae
Fabaceae
Family of legumes and tropical trees with seed pods.
Delonix
Delonix
Genus of tropical trees in the family Fabaceae (subfamily Caesalpinioideae) distributed mainly in Madagascar and East Africa. The genus includes some of the most spectacular flowers in the plant world: the type species, D. regia (flamboyant or flame tree), is one of the most impressively flowering trees in the world. The remaining species are endemic to Madagascar with restricted distributions, several critically endangered due to Malagasy deforestation. All share a characteristic umbrella-shaped canopy architecture and showy-petalled flowers.
Erythrina
Erythrina
Genus of tropical trees and shrubs known as coral trees, featuring spectacular red flowers, swollen pachycaul trunks, and toxic seeds rich in erythrine alkaloids.
Lysiphyllum
Lysiphyllum
Genus of trees and shrubs in the family Fabaceae (subfamily Cercidoideae) distributed in Australia (mainly the tropical and subtropical north) and Southeast Asia. They are the Australian equivalents of Asian Bauhinia, to which they were previously assigned. They are characterised by their distinctive bilobed leaves (butterfly- or horseshoe-shaped) and their showy white or pink flowers. L. cunninghamii (the mountain bauhinia) is an important Australian species for the ecosystem of northern Australia.
Prosopis
Prosopis
Genus of spiny shrubs and trees in the family Fabaceae (subfamily Caesalpinioideae), commonly known as mesquites, algarrobos and algorrobes. It comprises around 44 species distributed mainly in arid and semi-arid zones of the Americas (especially North America, Mexico and South America), with some species in Africa and Asia. They are extremely drought-adapted plants with deep root systems (up to 50 m in some species), making them important nitrogen fixers and revegetators of arid zones. The pod fruits (sweet mesocarp in several species) are food for wildlife and humans. Some species have become problematic invasives in Africa and Australia.
Senna
Senna
Genus of tropical and subtropical legumes, some adapted to arid and semiarid conditions.
Sesbania
Sesbania
Genus of herbs, shrubs and trees in the family Fabaceae (subfamily Faboideae), with around 60–70 species distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing plants that colonise riverbanks, wetlands and disturbed areas. Several species are of great agronomic importance as green manures and soil improvers (especially S. sesban and S. bispinosa). S. formosa is the most striking arborescent species, native to Australia, with large white flowers.