Peas, soybeans, sweet peas, lentils, peanuts, soybeans... Everyone knows the names of these plants. In our article we will look at the structural features of the vegetative organs and the formula of the legume flower.
General characteristics of the family
Legumes or moth plants belong to the dicotyledonous class. Taxonomists count more than 20 thousand species of them in nature. Most of them are valuable food and feed crops. Of particular importance is the ability of some species to fix atmospheric nitrogen. Legumes are represented by all life forms: herbs, shrubs and trees. As a rule, with on the stem. The legume flower is a systematic character.
Legend
In botany there is such a thing as a flower formula. She represents symbols parts of this generative organ. The numbers in this row indicate quantitative indicators of the elements of the generative organ.
They are deciphered as follows:
- C - cup. It is a collection of sepals surrounding the receptacle.
- B - corolla. These are all flower petals.
- O - perianth. It consists of a calyx and corolla.
- T - number of stamens.
- P is the number of pistils.
Legume Flower Formula
Now let's decipher this combination of symbols into specific example. The flower formula of moth or leguminous plants is as follows: P5 L1+2+(2) T (9+1) P1. This structure visually resembles a boat or a butterfly. This determines the name moths.
So, the perianth of representatives of this family consists of five sepals and petals. The structure of the latter is differentiated. The uppermost petal has big sizes compared to the others. It is called "sail". On both sides there are side petals - “oars”. The remaining pair grows together along the lower edge. This is how a “boat” is formed. Legumes have one pistil. In one case there may be ten stamens, in another - nine of them grow together, and one remains free. Petals are sometimes also called a butterfly with wings.
Flower type
The legume flower formula also contains additional information. Such structures are bisexual. This means that flowers have a pistil and stamens. They can be single - large with bright and wide petals.
Another characteristic feature is symmetry. According to this characteristic, legume flowers are irregular or zygomorphic. This means that a single vertical plane can be drawn through them.
In a number of cases, inflorescences form in representatives of this family. Sometimes the flower formula of which was given above forms inflorescences. It can be a brush, a head or a whisk.
Pollination and seed formation
The formula of the legume flower indicates some of its differences in different species of the family. These features also determine the method of pollination. For example, clover has each petal twisted into a long tube. Therefore, only bumblebees with a special proboscis can pollinate it. Legumes also attract bees and butterflies. Self-pollination occurs in peas, lupine, astragalus, and vetch.
A feature of legume seeds is the absence of endosperm, a reserve nutrient. These are dicotyledonous plants. Therefore, their embryo consists of two cotyledons, a rudimentary stem, a root and a bud, which contains the rudiments of the first leaves. There is a protective peel on the outside. The cotyledons are turned to each other with flat sides. They are connected in one of the parts. The rudimentary organs are located in this place.
The supply of substances is contained directly in the cotyledons. Scientists have proven that lupine can be grown even from seeds that have lain in permafrost for a long time. And beans are characterized by underground germination. In a biological sense, this is very beneficial, since it provides protection from animals and temperature changes.
Fruits and seeds
The fruit of this family is called a bean. It develops from the carpel. The bean is a dry polyspermous plant. After ripening, it opens along the seam between the two valves. They contain seeds. Unlike a pod, there is no vertical partition inside the bean.
Bean seeds have been used as food for a long time. Peas and beans contain large amounts of protein, while soybeans and peanuts contain vegetable oils. Clover and alfalfa are irreplaceable because they have great nutritional value. These plants are also of great importance as honey plants. White and yellow caragana, as well as mimosa, are well-known ornamental species.
Meaning
Legume shoots are valuable green fertilizer. They are plowed and left on the soil surface, which helps enrich it with organic matter and improves its structure. In the pharmaceutical industry, licorice, sweet clover, and white acacia are used as raw materials. Among the woods, sandalwood is the most valuable.
Nodule bacteria settle only on the roots of legumes. This is a special species that is able to absorb atmospheric nitrogen. What are the benefits of such organisms? Nitrogen is necessary element for the formation of stem and leaves. And there is enough of this substance in the air - up to 78%. But plants cannot absorb atmospheric nitrogen. Nodule bacteria convert it into a form that dissolves in water and can be absorbed from the soil by the roots. The existence of these organisms is mutually beneficial: the bacteria provide nitrogen to the plants and receive mineral nutrients in return.
So, the formula of a legume flower is CH5 L1+2+(2) T (9+1) P1. This structure consists of five carpels and the same number of petals. The latter differ in size and shape. As a result, the legume flower has an irregular shape and is zygomorphic. This means that only one axis of symmetry can be drawn through it. This type of symmetry is called zygomorphic. Visually, the flower of leguminous plants resembles a boat with oars and a sail or a butterfly. This determines the second name of this family - moths. All legume flowers are bisexual. They have one pestle. And the number of stamens is ten. In some of them, nine of them are fused, and one remains free.
Family Legumes
Denisova Diana 7 “B” class.
- Legumes, or Moths- family dicotyledons plant order Legumes .
- usually complex (digitated, pinnate, trifoliate) with stipules, less often simple.
- In typical legumes, the upper large petal is usually called sail(flag), side petals - oars(wings), and two fused or stuck together lower ones - boat .
- The Legume family includes 24,505 species, united in 946 genera. The extended family is usually divided into three subfamilies
- A number of legumes have long been cultivated as food plants and have become widespread in agriculture , others are known as decorative or food plants, some are a source wood valuable species .
- Legume seeds: peas , chickpeas , beans(white, red and black), lentils(red and brown)
- Sweet clover – honey plant, fodder and medicinal plant. Lupine provides green fertilizer: it is plowed into the soil as nitrogen fertilizer. The seed is rich in protein (up to 60%) and fat (up to 20%). It is also bred as an ornamental plant: it has a beautiful inflorescence - a raceme and palmate leaves.
- 1. Decorative shrub with yellow flowers legume family.
- 2. The second name of the legume family.
- 3. Organic matter, the high content of which in seeds is valued by agricultural plants of the family.
- 4. Bacteria living in symbiosis with leguminous plants.
- 5. The name of the upper, usually the largest petal of a flower of the family.
- 6. The fruit of plants of the family.
- 7. An important agricultural plant of the family.
- 8. A plant whose fruits, after flowering, ripen underground, having previously been “buried” in it.
- 9. The number of stamens in a flower of the family.
- 10. The most important forage and melliferous plant of the family.
2. moths
4. nodule
- Beans Already in ancient times they were bred in South America. In Russia - since the 17th century. Not only the seeds, but also the beans are edible and nutritious. Soybeans , fashionable today due to the fact that it can replace almost everything - from meat and milk to rubber and soap, comes from the East. Its seed contains up to 45% protein and up to 27% fatty oil.
- Indeed, beans justify the status of “magic food”: they have a cleansing effect for the blood and the whole body, and are also rich in vitamin B, which reduces the likelihood of heart disease, help the body remove excess water, and help normalize digestion, as they are rich in manganese. Thanks to it, the hair has a lush and strong structure.
- The beans are playing important role in the diet of vegetarians, since, unlike meat, it also contains, in addition to proteins, an excess amount of fat.
- Mediterranean countries are considered the birthplace of all legumes. It was from there that they spread throughout the planet. It is worth noting that the ancient Egyptians knew about beans over 2400 BC. And the types of large-seeded beans are much younger than their “ancestors”. People have known about their existence since approximately the second half of the first millennium AD.
Residents of temperate countries have been familiar with peas, beans, clover, vetch, and black acacia since childhood. In the tropics, the “rain tree” or adobe (Samanea saman) is well known, and one of the most beautiful trees in the world is Delonix regia (Table 26), which is sometimes called the “flame of the forests”. Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) was a favorite delicacy among the peoples inhabiting the Mediterranean countries, and soybeans (Glycine max) have been cultivated in China for several millennia. All these plants, so different at first glance, belong to the legume family, whose representatives are recognized in nature by their complex leaves with stipules and a characteristic fruit, which botanists define as a bean. One of the names of the family comes from the Latin name for bean (legumen). Another name (Fabaceae) is related to the Latin genus name Faba. The family is usually divided into three subfamilies: mimosaceae (Mimosoideae), caesalpiniaceae (Caesalpinoideae) and legumes proper, or moths (Faboideae), mainly based on differences in the structure of the flower. Many botanists prefer to consider them as independent families.
The number of currently known genera of legumes is about 700, and the species are probably at least 17,000. Among flowering plants, only two families - the orchidaceae and the Asteraceae - exceed the legumes in the number of species.
Legumes - trees (often very large, sometimes up to 80 m high), shrubs, dwarf shrubs, subshrubs and herbs (the latter mainly in the moth subfamily).
Climbing forms, both herbaceous and woody, are very common. The height of the measured plant of the Malacca compassia (Koompassia moluccana) was 82.4 m, the South American chain-shaped cedrelinga (Cedrelinga catenaeformis) - about 70 m, the high mora (Mora excelsa) and high afrormosia (Afrormosia excelsa) - about 60 m. From the trunks of such huge trees powerful plank-shaped roots emerge in the lower part. Of course, not all legumes reach such colossal sizes, but even among relatively short trees there are amazing plants. It is known, for example, that the fastest growing tree in the world is a legume from the mimosa subfamily - Albizia falcataria. The lightest wood in the world, lighter than the wood of the famous balsa tree, comes from Aeschynomene virginiana.
There are nodules on the roots of most mothaceae (about 70% of species), some mimosa (10-15%), and some caesalpiniaceae. They are of very different shapes and arise as growths of root parenchymal tissue due to the introduction and endogenous dispersal of bacteria from the genus Rhizobium. Occasionally, cyanobacteria settle, for example, in the nodules of Alexandrian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum), the endosymbiont Nostoc punctiforme was found. Every year, legumes, living in symbiosis with bacteria, return at least 100-140 kg/ha of nitrogen to the soil. It is interesting that sometimes nodules are known in some groups, but are absent in closely related ones, for example, nodule-bearing species of the genus Chaetocalyx and nodule-less species of Aeschynomene.
The leaves of legumes are complex, with stipules that often fall off early. Most mimosa and many caesalpiniaceae have doubly pinnately compound leaves. Odd-pinnate and trifoliate leaves are common in moths (the rarest exception is the trifoliate leaf of the African Camoensia scandens (Camoensia scandens, Table 26). The pari-pinnate leaf is the main type of leaf in the Caesalpiniaceae. Some tropical legumes are remarkable for their very large leaves. Leaf axis in one of the South American species of the genus Alexa (Alexa) reaches 1 m and bears several pairs of leathery shiny half-meter leaves. The leaves of representatives of the mimosa subfamily never reach such significant sizes, but often consist of hundreds and even thousands of individual leaflets. Relatively rare are secondary simplified leaves, in which the only the plate represents the apical unreduced leaflet: the genera Aotus (Aotus) from Australia, Podalyria from South Africa from the subfamily Papilidae, a few caesalpiniaceae, for example the genus Paloue or pseudosimples, where the upper pair of leaflets grows together into one, as in Bauhinia ), Cercis and Barklya syringifolia. These leaves are folded in half at night. Sometimes the upper leaves or most of of these are turned into tendrils (like peas and vetch). The role of the green leaf in the leafless species (Lathyrus aphaca) is performed by large leaf-shaped stipules, while their leaf blade is reduced. At the base of the petiole and petioles there are often special thickenings - pads, with the help of which, under the influence of changes in turgor, leaves and leaflets (all mimosa, caesalpinia and about half of the moths) are set in motion. The leaves and leaflets of such plants are capable of performing various nastic movements or, in the simplest cases, folding at night. The reaction to mechanical irritation of the leaves of Mimosa pudica is well known, and the leaves of the “telegraph plant” - Desmodium motorium - make intermittent circular movements.
The inflorescences of legumes can be either apical or axillary, most often side-flowering - in a raceme or panicle, less often axillary. In tropical and some subtropical legumes, various forms of ramiflory and cauliflory are known, when inflorescences appear on thick branches or even tree trunks. The number of flowers in an inflorescence sometimes decreases, down to a single flower, but at the same time the size of the flower, as a rule, increases. The climbing camenzia mentioned above has a flower reaching a length of 25 cm. Of course, such a large flower requires appropriate pollinators. Camencia climber is pollinated by butterflies with a very long proboscis.
At the "queen's" flowering trees- Burmese noble Amherstia (Amherstia nobilis), cultivated in the tropics, two dozen bright large flowers are collected in a thirty-centimeter inflorescence, which is strikingly beautiful against the background of dark green foliage. The capitate inflorescence of clover, as if completing the stem, is very characteristic. In reality it is lateral, but moves to the apical position during growth. Sometimes the size of the flowers is relatively small, but they are collected in dense capitate or brush-like inflorescences. This increases the visual appeal for pollinators. Dense inflorescences consisting of many small flowers are common in most mimosa. Parts of their flowers are usually brightly colored. The stamens become rigid and protrude from the corolla. They produce excessive amounts of pollen, or the flowers secrete too much nectar. All this makes the brush-shaped or spherical inflorescences of mimosa plants attractive to a wide variety of insects and animals (flies, butterflies, wasps, bees, bumblebees, small birds, bats). The effectiveness of pollination is thus ensured by the large number of pollinators, which are sometimes attracted by the peculiar, pungent smell of flowering plants.
The vast majority of legumes are characterized by entomophily. The role of pollinators in cross-pollination is performed by a variety of insects, and the pollination mechanism is often very subtle. Self-pollination is characteristic of relatively few legumes. Peas, lentils, species of lupins and astragalus, and some vetch are self-pollinating. Sometimes cleistogamy occurs, i.e. self-pollination inside unopened flowers. Wind pollination is known in the tropical genus Hardwickia from the subfamily Caesalpiniaceae. In the tropics and occasionally in the temperate zone, birds and bats participate in pollination. The bats visit large inflorescences of a number of mimosa. Some caesalpiniaceae with large flowers are ornithophilous, for example species of the genera Angylocalyx, Alexa, Castanospermum, Erythrina, etc. To attract birds, Erythrina flowers secrete such an amount of nectar that in some places in the USA they called “cry-baby” - a crying child. Since erythrin flowers are upside down, when a bird invades, pollen spills onto its back, and the stigma also touches the back. In some Australian moths, such as species of the Australian genus Brachysema, pollination is carried out by birds standing on the ground.
Legume flowers are in most cases bisexual, but unisexual flowers are still known in a number of representatives. In particular, unisexual (monoecious and even dioecious flowers) are several species of trees from the genera Gleditsia (Gleditsia, Table 27) and Gymnocladus, widely cultivated in subtropical countries. Some species of Neptunia and Parkia are remarkable in that some of the flowers in one inflorescence have only stamens, and some only gynoecium.
Most often, legume flowers have 10 stamens, which are arranged in 2 circles. Sometimes, in the early stages of development, the primary tubercles that give rise to stamens split and the number of stamens increases many times. Splitting is especially characteristic of mimosa, in the flowers of which there are sometimes up to several hundred stamens (Fig. 97). The stamens of moths, as a rule, grow together, but in different ways, and this determines the series biological features flower. Most often, the fused stamens form a tube that is not closed at the top, and insects easily insert their proboscis, taking out the nectar that accumulates in it. It is usually not possible to insert the proboscis into a closed tube, and nectar either accumulates outside the tube or is not formed at all, and the main attracting agent will be abundant pollen.
The flowers of the beautiful tropical caesalpinia (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) are pollinated by large butterflies. These butterflies, trying to get nectar from the depths of the corolla, touch the dust particles of far-exposed stamens and transfer the pollen that spills out to the protruding stigmas of other flowers. Pollination occurs similarly in a number of ornithophilous moths from the genera Alexa, Castanospermum and Angylocalix. Here the stamens are similarly projected far from the corolla. Occasionally, some of the stamens in legume flowers are transformed into brightly colored staminodes. In the inflorescence of Neptunia plena, along with purely female, purely male and bisexual flowers, there are flowers bearing only staminodes.
The gynoecium of legumes mostly consists of one carpel, but several archaic genera are known, in the flowers of which they find from 2 to 16 free carpels, usually sitting on a special support - the gynophore. These are, in particular, the species of the genera Archidendron and Affonsea from the Mimosa, some Cassia from the Caesalpiniaceae, and even some moths.
The number of ovules in the ovary varies from 2 to 15-20, but representatives of some genera have only one ovule. Mimosa and caesalpiniaceae are quite clearly distinguished from mothaceae. In the former, the ovules are mostly anatropic, while in the moths they are campylotropic or hemitropic, bitegmal or rarely unitegmal.
The shape and size of the calyx of legumes varies quite significantly. In Indian saraca (Saraca indica), in addition to the purely protective role that the calyx plays when the flower is in bud, its brightly colored lobes (almost all legumes have a calyx to one degree or another) attract pollinating insects, replacing missing petals. In red clover (Trifolium incarnatum), the teeth of the calyx of sterile flowers act as a locomotor system, changing position under the influence of changes in air humidity.
The vast majority have 5 petals, and only some representatives from different subfamilies have fewer. For example, in species of the genus Amorpha, only one is preserved. At first glance, the petals of species from the subfamilies Caesalpiniaceae and Mothaceae usually appear free at the base, but in fact they are most often attached to a floral tube, which arose from the fused tissues of sepals, petals and stamens. Undoubtedly, the ancestors of modern legumes had a fairly large open actinomorphic corolla, which allowed the flowers to be visited by a wide variety of insects and birds. Such a corolla is preserved in some species of the archaic Madagascar-African moth cadia (Cadia). The corolla of mimosa is also actinomorphic, but usually small, with petals fused into a tube. Such a tube additionally fixes the position of the rigid, protruding stamens. The vast majority of Caesalpiniaceae and Papyraceae are remarkable for their more or less zygomorphic corolla. The sharply zygomorphic corolla is especially characteristic of the second of the named subfamilies. By its resemblance to a moth, it was already in the 16th century. received the name mothaceae in the botanical literature, and this name is often used to designate the legume subfamily. The moth corolla consists of a larger upper petal - a flag, which envelops all the other petals in the bud and somewhat opposes them in the blossoming flower; two lateral petals form wings, and the innermost ones, merging in the upper half or sticking together, form a boat containing the stamens and the ovary. At least 95% of moth species have the type of corolla described above. Few deviations from the main variant are known, in particular several primitive tropical moths and species of the North American genus Amorpha, in which only one of the 5 petals has been preserved - the flag. The remarkable stability of the moth corolla, which is a kind of “biological lock” that protects pollen and nectar reserves from ineffective pollinators, is associated with an adaptation to pollination by bees and bumblebees.
The flag serves mainly to attract insects. On it, especially at the base, additional marks in the form of bright veins are often noticed. Attracted by a bright flag or a bright flower in general, the insect sits on the edge of the boat or, more often, on one of the wings and seeks to insert the proboscis to the base of the stamen filaments to the nectar reserves. In this case, the petals of the boat or wings bend under the weight of the insect and its active movements, simultaneously performing oscillatory movements in time with the movements of the insect’s body. All petals begin to respond as a single system, as they are connected through the ears and humps present on each of the four petals. Under the influence of the movements of insects, the flag bends back, the wings move down and to the sides, and the stamens and gynoecium, due to a certain elasticity, maintain a horizontal position and come into contact with the abdomen of the insect. When the insect flies away, the bent petals, again due mainly to the springing action of the ears, return to their previous position and the stamens and gynoecium are hidden in the boat.
The described type of pollination mechanism is common in many moths, the most common, but not the only one. Sometimes, for example, in the species of lotus (Lotus), ulcer (Anthyllis), lupine (Lupinus), variegated bobble (Coronilla varia), the edges of the boat near the apex grow together, forming a hollow cone, in the lower part of which anthers are placed, and the upper part is usually filled with mature pollen. When the boat is bent, the stamens push out the pollen like a piston, and with stronger pressure the gynoecium also protrudes. Some vetchs have a special brush on the stigma or directly under it, which, when bending the petals, “sweeps” pollen out of the boat and applies it to the body of the insect.
The peculiarity of the mechanism of pollination of flowers of different types of alfalfa (Medicago) is the presence of a mandatory element called “tripping” (English tripping - switching off, turning off). At a certain moment, when a bee or bumblebee opens the petals, the gynoecium, rigidly connected to them (in addition to the ear, on the wings of alfalfa flowers there is also a special tooth that rests on the petals of the boat), jumps out of the boat and hits the insect’s abdomen. Without hitting some more or less solid object, subsequent penetration of pollen tubes into the stigma tissue is impossible and pollination does not occur. The phenomenon of tripping reliably protects the plant from self-pollination.
Strong and relatively heavy insects such as bees and bumblebees, as well as birds, benefit from the moth-type corolla and specialized pollination mechanisms, while various flies and small weak butterflies are usually not very effective pollinators. In this case, a biological lock arises, which opens under certain conditions and reliably stores food reserves guaranteed for certain types of insects. Interestingly, even the length of the insect’s proboscis matters. Thus, in many clovers the length of the stamen tube is 9-10 cm, which corresponds to the length of the proboscis of a number of bumblebees and bees. The common bee has a shorter proboscis, so it only bends the boat and collects the accumulated pollen, but at the same time promotes cross-pollination. Soviet entomologist E.K. Grinfeld (1955) found that in many cases bees are even more effective pollinators than bumblebees. When visiting only bees, about 80% of the seeds are set, and bumblebees - 60% of the number of flowers visited. Often, short-proboscis insects simply steal nectar, piercing the outside of the flower. In this case, pollination, of course, does not occur. The number of insects “stealing” nectar increases in spring and autumn, when there are relatively few flowers.
The legume fruit, called a bean, develops from a single carpel. It is very diverse in morphological and anatomical features, which are purely adaptive in nature (Fig. 98). Rarely does the fruit consist of several beans (in representatives of the family with flowers that have several carpels). When the fruits ripen, some of the seeds are aborted, which depends on a number of environmental factors (lack of pollinators, drought) and increases sharply with self-pollination. Beans come in a variety of sizes. The record for the size of a bean, which is also the largest fruit in the world, belongs to the fruits of the climbing entada (Entada scandens), sometimes reaching a length of one and a half meters.
Legume seeds without endosperm or with scanty endosperm (in moths usually without endosperm). Reserve nutrients are deposited directly in the cotyledons. On the outside, the seeds are covered with a dense, shiny seed coat, which under natural conditions allows the seeds of some species to remain viable for decades. Recently it was reported that it was possible to grow normal arctic lupine (L. arcticus) plants from seeds that had lain in permafrost for 10,000 years. This, apparently, is a kind of record of anabiosis, that is, long-term viability in a state of deep dormancy. Another record belongs to the South American mimosa sea oleifera (Mora oleifera). This tree has the largest seeds in the world, the length of which reaches 15-17 cm.
In some legume species, seeds germinate by carrying the cotyledons above the ground (aboveground germination). Underground germination is considered more advanced, as it provides the cotyledons with protection from being eaten by animals, trampling, temperature fluctuations, and so on. This type of germination is characteristic of all vetches, some bean and other genera.
The variety of methods of distribution among members of the family is so great that we will note only a few and the most characteristic of them. Readers are probably aware of the facts when a mature bean cracks, opening with two flaps, which simultaneously twist with force and scatter the seeds almost a meter from the parent plant. Cracking is associated with the special arrangement of mechanical tissue fibers in the pericarp. The seeds of many vetches and beans are scattered in a similar way. Birds eat small fruits of Alysicarpus species and individual segments of the jointed beans of some Desmodium, thereby facilitating their dispersal over considerable distances. The fruits of many legumes, the distribution of which is facilitated by mammals, are characterized by various outgrowths or spines on the pericarp, which act as hooks. Such outgrowths have been described in a number of representatives of licorice (Glycyrrhiza), in Zornia diphylla and in species of alfalfa (Medicago), Scorpiorus and Mimosa. The fleshy beans of the "Tahitian nut", Inocarpus edulis, quite common on many islands of Oceania, are distributed by crabs.
Water and wind play the most important role in the dispersal processes of legumes. Wing-shaped outgrowths of the pericarp, and they are known in representatives of several dozen genera, sometimes allow fruits to glide tens of meters, as noted in the tropical Malacca compassia tree (Koompassia malaccensis). The fruits of the desert Ammodendron conollyi are twisted in such a way that, under the influence of the slightest air movement, they easily move along the surface of the sand. The sea current distributes fruits or parts of fruits of the species Caesapinia, Sophora, Cassia, Afzelia bijuga, etc. Some seeds and fruits can be transported by water for hundreds and thousands of kilometers. In 1921, A.I. Tolmachev found the remains of fruits and seeds of the tropical vine entada climbing near the Novaya Zemlya islands near Yugorsky Shar, where the last northern branch of the Gulf Stream enters. It is not without reason that it is believed that it was the beans of this vine that inspired the ancient Normans with the idea of the existence of America, which was actually discovered by them before Columbus.
Bright red or red with black markings seeds of the tropical species Adenanthera bicolor and Adenanthera bicolor (A. pavonina), Erythrina, Ormosia, Abrus attract wild pigeons, parrots and crows, which They readily eat and partially spread them. The seeds of Sindora and Afzelia are equipped with a fleshy arilloid, which mice and ants gnaw off, simultaneously taking away the seeds themselves. The spread of the Brazilian species Clitoria cajanifolia is facilitated by mucous secretions on their seeds.
Legumes are distributed very widely - from the Arctic to the Antarctic islands. In terms of breadth of distribution, representatives of the moth subfamily as a whole are second only to cereals. In most countries with tropical, warm temperate and boreal climates, moths make up a significant part of the local flora. Only in cold climates the share of their participation is relatively small. It is known, for example, that in the flora of the island of Kalimantan, moths occupy 6th place in the number of genera represented there, in New Caledonia - 3rd, in the Mariana Islands - 3rd, in the flora of Brazil, moths are second only to four families, in Italy they are 5th place, and in Iceland and Greenland, i.e. in cold climates, only 10th. Approximately 10% of the species composition of the flora of the USSR is accounted for by moths (2nd place after Asteraceae). About 1000 species of the same grow in the USSR. large family- astragalus (Astragalus).
Representatives of the other two subfamilies - mimosa and caesalpiniaceae - are noticeably inferior in breadth of distribution to moths. It is predominantly tropical and partly subtropical plants. In many tropical countries, mimosa and caesalpiniaceae are prominent components of the local flora. North of 40° N. w. they are rare. Thus, in Central Asia and the Caucasus, a few wild species of crimson (Cercis), honey locust (Gleditsia caspia) and mimosa (Lagonychium farctum) are known. In the southern hemisphere, some mimosa, representatives of the genus Prosopis, reach 56° S in Patagonia. sh., however, this does not violate the general picture - the gravitation towards the tropics and subtropics. Several modern centers of species diversity of Mimosa and Caesalpiniaceae are known. In Australia and Africa, for example, there are several hundred species of acacia (Acacia, table 28), and in South America there are almost 400 species of cassia.
The upper altitudinal limits of the distribution of moths (Caesalpinia and Mimosa almost never cross the border with the average daily temperature of the coldest month of the year equal to 0°C) often coincide with the limits of distribution of flowering plants. In Asia some alpine species Thermopsis (Alpine Thermopsis - Thermopsis alpina and Inflated Thermopsis - T. inflata), Astragalus, Oxytropis, Hedysarum, Tibetan Stracheya tibetica rise to 4500 and even 5000 m above sea level.
The ability to adapt to a wide variety of natural conditions is amazing among moths. They easily penetrate many plant communities and are often their edificators. It is believed that in the herbs of forest and forest-steppe zones, moths make up 10-20% of the total mass. In the reserve near Kursk (Streletskaya steppe), on an area of 100 m2, among 117 species, there were 12 species of legumes. In the prairies of North America, which are analogues of the European steppes special role play different types moths from the genera Psoralea, astragalus, licorice and baptisia. Shrubby mimosa plants of the genus Prosopis are also very common here. The participation of moths in the creation of various shrub communities of the Mediterranean and Western and Central Asia is significant. The communities of mountain xerophytes, in which xerophilic representatives of legumes take a large part, make an unforgettable impression. Particularly impressive are the dense, prickly cushions of tragacanth astragalus and sainfoin pressed to the ground.
Many legumes are excellently adapted to moisture deficiency on heavy and infertile clay soils or shifting sands. The camel thorn (Alhagi pseudalhagi) has roots that reach groundwater at a depth of 3-4 m, possibly more, which allows plants to settle in clayey, rocky and even saline deserts. The long, cord-like roots of sand acacias (Ammodendron) hold plants well on the shifting sands of the Karakum and Kyzylkum, simultaneously securing them. The characteristic savannah landscape is created by xerophilous with flat umbrella-shaped crowns, small-leaved and thorny species of African acacias, parkia (Parkia) and brachystegia (Brachystegia). In Australian xerophilous acacias, the leaves are often transformed into phyllodes.
In the humid tropics and subtropics, legumes are often included in the forest as the main species. In the mid-mountain forests of the Hawaiian Islands, the main forest-forming tree is the golden-leaved butterfly (Edvardsia chrysophylla). Two other species of this genus, E. tetraptera and E. microphylla, occupy a similar position in some forest types in New Zealand. Large, up to 5 cm long, beautiful flower Edwardsia four-winged has been chosen as the national flower of this country. Interestingly, Guatemala got its name from the local name of a characteristic plant of the local forests - Myroxylon balsamum var. pereirae.
A rare case of single-species forests in the humid tropics is the high mora mimosa, which forms clean forests with an even tree canopy on the island of Trinidad. Dry tropical forests and woodlands, the so-called “Chaco forests” in the provinces of Gran Chaco (Paraguay and Argentina) and Yungas (in the foothills of Hades in Bolivia), almost half consist of various legumes (usually Prosopis species).
The outstanding role of legumes in the life of mankind is well known. In terms of economic importance, they are second only to cereals. In addition to a very large group of food products, among legumes there are many forage, industrial, melliferous, medicinal, ornamental, and valuable wood-producing representatives. Here we will focus only on some of the most important aspects of the use of legumes, noting in most cases only the main uses of each type.
Along with cereals, the seeds of many moths are the oldest component of the human diet of all times and almost all peoples. Butterfly seeds are extremely rich in proteins, and at the same time contain sufficient amounts of starch. Some cultivated species accumulate a lot of fatty oil in their seeds (soybeans, peanuts).
Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most important cultivated plants of global importance. Unknown in the wild, this annual plant is now cultivated on an area of 44.4 million hectares, with approximately half of the crops located in the USA and a third in China. The main cultural areas in the USSR are Primorsky Krai, Ukraine and the North Caucasus. Soy proteins are similar in amino acid composition to meat proteins. Soybean oil (15-26% by weight of seeds) is used for the production of candies, sauces, soy milk, as well as in the manufacture of margarine, soap, glycerin, varnishes and paints. Soybean cake is a valuable concentrated feed, rich in protein (up to 40%). The homeland of this crop is obviously China, where soybeans were known at least 4-5 thousand years ago. From China it came to Japan and Korea. Brought to Europe at the end of the 18th century.
The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is one of the main plants of ancient agriculture in South and Central America. It is unknown in its wild form, but it is assumed that the ancestor of the cultivated bean was the wild Argentine species of native bean (P. aborigineus). The Spaniards brought beans to Europe after Columbus's voyages. In Russia it has been grown since the 17th - 18th centuries. Bean crops for grain (about 20 cultivated species out of 200) now amount to about 23 million hectares. Its main producers are India, Brazil, China, Mexico and Romania. Ripe bean seeds contain an average of 24-27% proteins and are consumed boiled. In many countries, unripe beans are used to prepare various dishes. Tepary (P. acutifolius), which was introduced into cultivation in Mexico at least 5,000 years ago, is cultivated in different areas of America. In the Central Asian republics, in addition to the fairly widely cultivated common bean, mung bean (Vigna radiata) is often cultivated.
Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea, Fig. 99) is a cultivated species of global importance, native to South America. About 19 million hectares are occupied by the crop. The main areas are concentrated in India, China and the African continent. Peanuts are valued primarily for their non-drying oil, which the seeds contain from 40 to 60%. Peanut oil is used in the canning and food industries; roasted seeds are known to be a delicacy. The biology of this plant is remarkable. Cross-pollination is almost completely lost; self-pollinating flowers that bloom only one day predominate. The stalk of the fertilized ovary and its lower part (gynophore) begin to grow due to the intercalary meristem, first vertically, and then bend towards the soil. Having reached the soil, the gynophore penetrates it, the mycelium of a symbiotic fungus appears on it, after which growth stops. The seeds ripen at a depth of 8-10 cm, well protected from the action of dry hot air.
Peas (Pisum sativum) are cultivated in many countries around the world. The sown area of peas in world agriculture is about 11 million hectares. The largest areas are in the USSR (about 4 million hectares) and the People's Republic of China. Peas are not found in the wild; based on archaeological finds, they consider Western Asia to be their homeland. Pea crops were widespread in Ancient Rus'. Mature seeds - famous food product. Unripe seeds, mainly of brain varieties, and beans are canned. Seeds, green mass, hay, and pea silage are excellent feed for livestock.
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is an annual plant, also unknown in the wild, which occupies more than 10 million hectares and is especially widely cultivated in India and Pakistan. White-seeded varieties are usually used for food, while others are used for livestock feed.
In the Mediterranean, faba beans (Faba bona) have been widely cultivated since the Stone Age. This moisture-loving plant, undemanding to heat, is widely used in Western Europe as a food plant (a total of 4.7 million hectares are occupied by it in the world), but in the USSR it is cultivated mainly as a fodder plant.
Legumes that form underground tubers are considered very promising for tropical areas. These tubers, in addition to starch, contain significant amounts of protein (up to 20%), which makes them superior to such well-known food tuberous plants as cassava, potatoes and yams. There are two known types of “yam beans”, individual tubers of which reach 8 kg. The homeland of one of them - Pachyrhizus erosus - is Mexico, the other - Pachyrhizus tuberosus - Brazil.
The nutritional benefits of representatives of the subfamilies Caesalpiniaceae and Mimosaaceae are significantly inferior to those of moths, however, among them there are species that are widely used in the world economy.
The fruits of the “Constantial horns”, or carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), widely cultivated in the Mediterranean, contain gum and sugars. Currently, its largest plantations are in Cyprus. Home to the Indian tamarind (Tamarindus indica) in the dry savannas of West Africa, even the capital of Senegal, Dakar, is named after the local name for tamarind (“dakar”). Nowadays, tamarind is cultivated in all tropical countries for its fruits, the sour-sweet pulp of which contains 30-40% sugars, citric acid, tartaric acid, acetic acid and vitamin C. In India alone, over 250,000 tons of fruits are harvested annually for local use and export.
The food value of moths is invaluable. Clover species (Trifolium) undoubtedly rank first in the world in terms of area occupied. 12-15 species are cultivated, many of which are no longer known in the wild. The most ancient type of clover, apparently, is bersim, or Alexandrian clover (T. alexandrinum). In the USSR, red or meadow clover (T. pratense) became widespread. It grows wild throughout Europe, where it began to be cultivated in the 14th century. In the USSR, the total crop area is about 8 million hectares. In Australia, the main pasture clover was used as early as the 20s of the 20th century. became Mediterranean look underground clover (T. subterraneum). This species has a special adaptation for surviving drought: heads with cleistogamous, self-pollinating flowers, which at the end of flowering are buried in the soil, where the beans ripen.
Alfalfa species (Medicago) have no less nutritional value than clover. The feed value of many alfalfas is on average higher than that of clovers. Of the large number of cultivated species, we note first of all alfalfa, or blue alfalfa (M. sativa). The global area of its crops is more than 20 million hectares. Alfalfa is pollinated exclusively by insects, and when there are not enough insects (there are about 500 million flowers per 1 hectare of crops), seed production drops sharply. Less common, but also cultivated as fodder, are sainfoin (Onobrychis sativa) and yellow lupine (Lupinus luteus). The latter uses only specially bred low-alkaloid varieties (“sweet lupine”) for feed. In the arid regions of the USA and Canada, as well as in China, white clover (Melilotus albus) is widely cultivated as a good forage grass. A very important pasture plant of the deserts and semi-deserts of Central Asia is the mentioned camel thorn, rich in sugars, which in hot weather stand out on the stems and leaves in the form of a whitish coating.
In recent decades, along with moths, some mimosa have acquired important food importance for the tropics. This role is played primarily by some African acacias, mainly white acacia (Acacia albida) and American and Afro-Asian species of the genus Prosopis. The widely studied Leucaena leucocephala tree is considered particularly promising. This species of leucena is native to Central America, but is now cultivated almost everywhere in the tropics. It is believed that the value of the green mass obtained from leucena is not inferior to the nutritional value of alfalfa, but the plant is 1.5-2 times more productive than the latter.
The most valuable wood in the world is produced by tall pericopsis, or golden afrormosia (Pericopsis elata), harvested in the forests of Ghana. Various high-value varieties of pink, mahogany and ebony are supplied by tropical species of Dalbergia and Pterocarpus (Fig. 100). Tall trees from the genus Intsia, native to Southeast Asia and Melanesia, provide high-quality wood for furniture production. Wood with similar properties is produced by trees (mainly African) belonging to species of the genus Afzelia.
The technical importance of legumes is associated mainly with the presence of various gums, balms, coloring and aromatic substances in a number of their representatives. Soluble gums, such as Acacia senegal gum, are used as a base for the production of dyes and partly in medicine. Tragacanth gum, extracted in the USSR, Iran and Turkey from various shrubby astragalus belonging to the tragacanth section (Astragalus sect. Tragacantha), is capable of swelling greatly: 5 g of gum absorbs 200 g of water. Due to its atomic properties, gum is used in a number of industries, for example, in textiles, confectionery, paint and varnish, etc.
Various species of Copaifera from tropical regions of South America produce the so-called copai balsam, used in the varnish industry, less so in medicine. Trachylobium verrucosum is the source of Zanzibar balsam, and logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum) from Central America is an important hematoxylin dye. From the fruits of "divi-divi", which are obtained from two South American species of the genus Dipteryx, coumarin is isolated - a substance with the smell of fresh hay, which is widely used in the production of soap, eau de toilette, as well as a number of food products.
The use of legumes in medicine has a long history. Among the representatives of the family, a number of plants, for example species of Cassia (Cassia) and Japanese Sophora (Styphnolobium japonicum), are of world importance as medicinal plants.
Worthy of mention are the Calabar beans, or poisonous physostigma (Physostigma venenosum), growing wild in the forests of tropical Africa. Containing toxic alkaloids, Calabar beans are highly poisonous. In their homeland they were used as “judicial beans” under the name ezera. A person suspected of a crime was given a decoction of herbs to drink, which included Calabar beans; death meant confirmation of the accusation, otherwise the subject was considered acquitted. The alkaloid eserine is obtained from Calabar beans, which is used in ophthalmology. The flowers of Sophora japonica, now cultivated in 82 countries, are industrial source getting routine. The thickets of Central Asian licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) and Ural licorice (G. uralensis) are of global importance. Licorice roots contain saponins with a pronounced effect on water-salt metabolism in the body. Root extracts are widely used in the food industry to make halva.
The most important legumes used in medicine are undoubtedly several types of cassia. Cassia angustifolia, or senna (C. angustifolia), and cassia acutifolia (C. acutifolia) - of African origin, produce Alexandria leaf, which contains anthraglycosides and has been used as a laxative for several hundred years. Cassias are bred in many countries with warm climates. In the USSR, these and some other species are cultivated in Southern Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan on an area of 200-370 hectares.
Of the numerous decorative moths, we mention the so-called white acacia, or false acacia (Robinia pseudacacia) - American tree species, now widely cultivated throughout the world in the temperate zone, and the above-mentioned Sophora japonica. A real decoration of many European gardens is the golden shower (Laburnum anagyroides). The most beautiful moths are considered to be the species of Clianthus, or beauty flower (Clianthus, Table 27), originating from New Zealand and Australia. The other two subfamilies are also very rich in magnificent ornamental plants, which, unfortunately, can be cultivated almost exclusively in the tropics and subtropics.
The “rain tree” or samanea (Samanea saman) has become widespread in the tropics. The giant flat crowns of these trees protect the streets of many settlements well from the scorching rays of the tropical sun, but they can hardly protect from rain at night, since its leaves, like those of many other legumes, fold at night. In some places, samanea, whose homeland is believed to be -apparently, Venezuela has naturalized, creating a secondary “savannah” landscape.
Some large-flowered species of Bauhinia (Bauhinia, Fig. 101) are known in the tropics under the name “orchid” tree. Madagascar royal delonix (Delonix regia, table 26) is now a decoration of all tropical countries. The legume family includes another one of the most beautiful trees in the world, whose homeland is Burma, Amherstia nobilis.
A story about legumes would be clearly incomplete without mentioning a number of valuable plants that are currently underutilized, but are an important reserve in the economy of all mankind. IN last years It has been established that some legumes from areas with arid climates contain large amounts of protein in their above-ground parts and, after appropriate selection, can be used as forage plants.
The fodder qualities of Cassia sturtii, a beautifully flowering shrub from the deserts and semi-deserts of South Australia, are highly appreciated. When cultivated in the arid regions of Western Asia, this species produces about 1 ton of hay per hectare. No less interesting is the tamarugo (Prosopis tamarugo) - a tree growing in the barren Atacama Desert (Chile), where the soil is covered with a thick crust of salt. Very few higher plants can survive in such conditions, but tamarugo grows excellently and provides excellent fodder for sheep. Testing these plants is of certain interest for the desert regions of our country. Of significant interest for testing is guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), a herbaceous plant recently cultivated for food purposes in India, and in recent years in the USA. Guar seeds in the endosperm contain a gum used in cosmetics and perfumes, and a large amount of protein and fatty oil make guar a very valuable food plant in industrial cultivation.
Meadow herbaceous plants - (Leguminosae, or Fabaceae), a large family of dicotyledonous plants. Single and perennial herbs, shrubs, subshrubs, vines and trees. About 700 genera and more than 17,000 species. Distributed in all areas of the globe, although trees... ... Collier's Encyclopedia
- (Fabaceae, Leguminosae) a family of dicotyledonous plants, widespread in all areas of the globe. Some called "B." unite 3 closely related families: Papilionaceae (Papilionaceae, or Fabaceae), Caesalpiniaceae... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
MEADOW CLOVER, OR RED (T. PRATENSE L.)- see Perennial with a taproot system penetrating water meadows in the floodplain of the river. Oka by 30-40 cm, and in cultivation on well-drained soils even up to 2-3 m. Aboveground shoots are erect or slightly curved, ascending, 15-40 high... ... Meadow herbaceous plants
MOUSE PEAS, OR VETCH (VICIA ERACCA L.)- see Mouse pea Perennial with long (up to 60 cm), located in the top layer of soil at a depth of 15 cm. The main root penetrates into the soil up to 2 m or more. The stems are thin, ribbed, ascending or recumbent, climbing with the help of tendrils ,… … Meadow herbaceous plants
HYBRID CLOVER, OR PINK (T. HYBRIDUM L.)- see. Perennial with a tap root system penetrating to a depth of 1 m, but the bulk of the roots are located in the soil up to 30-50 cm. 40 (in cultivation up to 100) cm., less often erect, simple or slightly branched, often hollow inside. Leaves with... Meadow herbaceous plants
The list of leguminous plants consists of several thousand items. Among them there are both well-known and rare ones (for example, Dalbergia, Piscidia, Robinia). When asked which plants are legumes, biologists give the following definition: legumes are all dicotyledonous plants of the legume order. Below are photos and names of leguminous plants with a brief description of their characteristics.
What plants are legumes?
Types of leguminous plants include peas, beans, soybeans and clover, among others. Among them there are forage grasses, and there are also grain crops, the seeds of which are very nutritious. It’s not for nothing that legumes are called plant meat: after all, the seeds hidden in a special fruit, the bean, contain a lot of protein and can replace animal meat.
Legumes are also called mothaceae, although, strictly speaking, mothaceae are only one of two subfamilies, the other being mimosa. In moths, the flower really resembles a butterfly or a boat. It has five petals: the upper large one is a flag, two side ones are oars or wings, and the two lower ones, fused or stuck together, represent a boat.
What types of leguminous plants are there?
Speaking specifically about the types of legumes, beans, peas, lentils and soy are most often mentioned.
It has many varieties and is grown not only for its seeds, but also for its flowers. Decorative beans are called “Turkish beans”.
It has a fruit typical of its family - a flat, bivalve bean with pea-shaped seeds. They are usually round or slightly angular.
Lentils grows in the Mediterranean, Transcaucasia, Asia Minor and Central Asia. It has been very popular since ancient times. Lentil soup is even mentioned in the Bible.
Lupine known to people since ancient times. Its name comes from the Latin word “lupus” - “wolf”. It’s not for nothing that lupine is called wolf bean, because its seeds contain poisonous, bitter substances. But lupine flowers are very beautiful, and it itself is extremely useful - nodule bacteria that live on its roots enrich the soil with nitrogen. Therefore, lupine is an excellent fertilizer.
People grew soybeans in ancient times, fully understanding its value. Chinese archaeologists have discovered images of soybeans on stones, bones and turtle shells. And these drawings are from 3000 to 4000 years old. Today, soybeans are cultivated all over the world and are highly valued for both their yield and their high content of proteins and vitamins. The use of these legumes in cooking is very wide: soybeans are used to make pasta, sauces, meat and even milk. True, this meat and milk are plant-based, but can partially replace animal products.
Trees of the legume family with photos
Carob trees, a member of the legume family, grow in the Mediterranean region. It has served people for a long time. They used it entirely - they ate the fruits themselves and fed livestock, honey and wine were made from the juice, records were kept on the leaves, tannins were extracted from the bark, and furniture and musical instruments were made from the wood.
Photo gallery
Carob, or Ceratonia capita, is the only Mediterranean plant that blooms in the fall.
In the 20th century The hard and durable seeds of the pod tree were used to make glue for making parachutes, and the seeds served as the main material in the production of photographic and film films.
The carob tree is so named for the curved shape of its pods.
Carob seeds have an amazing property - they have the same mass - 0.19 g, and even with long-term storage it does not change. The ancient Romans used them as weights for precise measurements. These seeds were called "karat". This is where the measure that is used today in assessing precious stones and as an indicator of the purity of gold comes from. True, the modern metric carat is equal to 0.2 g.
Ceratonia capita are still grown today. And in the 20th century. Its beans were used to make glue for parachutes and materials for the production of photographic and film films. Today, carob powder is made from ceratonia, replacing cocoa and coffee. The weight of one grain is 0.19 g, which is the so-called “one carat”. Ceratonia is used to make liqueurs and compotes, a thickening agent for cooking is gum, and in medicine it is used to create various preparations.
If mature ceratonia pods are broken, they begin to smell like baker's yeast. In addition, they contain juicy, nutritious pulp. Apparently, this is why ceratonia was nicknamed “John’s breadfruit tree.” According to one legend, John the Baptist ate carob fruits when he was alone and away from people.
The legume family has two forms: herbaceous and woody. The forms, in turn, are divided into three subfamilies according to the structure of the flower: mimosa, caesalpinia and legume.
Caesalpinia and mimosa plants live only in warm climates, and legumes grow throughout the globe. These include well-known forage and vegetable crops: peas, beans, beans, soybeans, chickpeas, peanuts, alfalfa and clover.
All representatives of legumes have a distinctive fruit structure - a pod. When ripe, the pod opens at one or two seams. Beans come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
The leaves of most representatives of legumes are complex: pinnate or palmate, arranged in pairs, from one to twenty pairs.
A special feature of legume roots is the presence of tubers, which are colonies of nitrogen-fixing bacteria that penetrate from the ground into the roots and cause the growth of the root system.
Nutritional value of legumes
The role of leguminous plants in human life is very great. Since ancient times, legumes have been an integral part of the diet of all peoples.
The nutritional value of legumes is due to their diverse composition: proteins, large amounts, some are found in fruits vegetable oil.
Peas contain up to 28% protein, lentils – 32%, soybeans up to 40% of the total mass. Such indicators make legumes a cheap substitute for meat products. Vegetable oil is produced industrially from soybeans and peanuts.
Legumes are a source of B vitamins: B1, B2, B6, which have a positive effect on heart function. Fiber in products has a beneficial effect on intestinal function and saturates the body.
Very important advantage legumes - they do not accumulate toxic substances.
The role of leguminous plants
Forage, medicinal, industrial, melliferous, and ornamental crops also play a very important role in the life of mankind. Among forage crops, in terms of area occupied, clover is in first place, then different kinds alfalfa and camel thorn.
Valuable and medicinal plants: cassia (used as a laxative), licorice root (a raw material for the medical industry).
Some tropical species serve as a source of valuable red and dark brown wood. Many types of legumes produce gum, which is used in the paint and varnish and textile industries.
Legumes are a special type of plant crop that differs from other grains in their increased protein content. One of the most famous representatives The legume is peas, but this crop is characterized by much greater diversity.
Legumes
Legumes are a valuable source of vegetable protein, which is widely used as food by both humans and animals. They belong to the dicotyledonous family and are distributed in various parts of the world, since they are able to grow in a variety of climates, ranging from arid regions to mountainous areas.Legumes are also called pulses due to the special shape of their fruits, which are usually round or oval in shape, resembling a grain. However, the fruits of legumes are usually larger than those of grain crops: as a rule, they are at least 3 centimeters and can reach 1.5 meters. Most legumes have seeds enclosed in a special shell called a pod.
The nutritional value of legumes lies in the fact that at a fairly low cost they contain a significant amount of protein: on average, 100 grams of legumes contain from 22 to 25 grams of protein. This figure is significantly higher than, for example, cereals, 100 grams of which contain 8-13 grams of protein. In addition, 60-70% of the weight of a legume crop comes from the starch it contains, and another 1-3% from fat.
Types of legumes
Legumes are one of the most diverse plant species: their number is about 18 thousand species, and a significant part of them are edible. Moreover, one of the most common plants belonging to this culture is soybean: it is used both independently and as a component in the production of complex products in the dairy, meat and confectionery industries. Moreover, among other representatives of its species, soybean is the product with the most high content protein: 100 grams of this crop contain about 35 grams of this valuable substance.In Russia, the most famous legumes are peas, beans and beans. They are usually prepared by drying and then used in the preparation of soups and main courses. Beans and legumes are also used to produce canned vegetables. In addition, some types of these crops are also used as forage plants, and in this case, not only the fruits, but also the remaining green parts of the plants, including the stem and leaves, are used to feed livestock.
However, the variety of legumes is not limited to this list. Thus, in recent years, products of this group, previously poorly known on the market, began to appear in Russian stores, for example, chickpeas, chickpeas and lentils. In addition, peanuts, which are commonly considered a nut, also fall into this category.
