ABSTRACT
Leguminosae (or Fabaceae) is the third largest family of flowering plants (after Compositae and Orchidaceae) and is second only to grasses (Gramineae) in economic importance. It contains a currently estimated 16,000-19,000 species belonging to about 750 genera. The domesticated legumes, or pulses, are members of a subfamily Papilionoidae, which is further classified in 10 botanical tribes, 3 of which contain the major vegetable and grain legumes (Fig. 1).
