PLANT NAMES AND THEIR MEANINGS-IX 



LEGUMINOSAE-I 



By W1L1.ARD N. Ci^uTE. 



'T^hat great group of plants characterized by flowers like the 

 ■'• sweet pea and fruits in the shape of pods has had more than 

 the usual share of changes in name. To the farmer the plants 

 will probably always be "legumes" and the family to which 

 they belong the Leguminosae. This is the oldest and best 

 known title. It is derived from the Latin word which means 

 to gather by hand. Apparently the plants of this group have 

 been known as useful plants from the most ancient times. An- 

 other old term for the group is Papilionaceae from the latin 

 papilio meaning a butterfly. This, referring to the shape of 

 the flower, appears to be quite descriptive, but the modern idea 

 that the family name should always be made from some type 

 genus suggests that these names should be displaced either 

 by Fabaceae from the bean genus (Faba) or Phaseolaceae 

 from Phase olus still another bean genus. It is futher to be 

 expected in a family as large as this, containing nearly 

 fifteen thousand species, that there will be various sub-divis- 

 ions and these may themselves be considered good families by 

 radical botanists. Thus we often find some of the plants 

 ordinarily considered as Leguminosae in groups known as 

 Mimosaceae and Caesalpineaceae. These latter, it may be ob- 

 served are least like the species still considered to be in good 

 standing in the Leguminosae. In the vernacular the members 

 of the group are sometimes spoken of as "pulses", though 

 this word is rarely used in America. Pulse is a very old term 



