40 FABACEAE 
both sutures, less often indehiscent; sometimes breaking transversely into (usually indehiscent) 
1-seeded articles (e.g. Aeschynomene). Seeds usually without endosperm, the embryo with large 
cotyledons. Fig. 15 
A cosmopolitan family of c. 440 genera and over 11,000 species. In Australia about 136 genera and 
1100 species with 64 genera in the NT. In the DR there are 43 genera and 131 species with 144 species treated 
here. Some taxonomists treat this family, along with Caesalpiniaceae and Mimosaceae, as a subfamily of 
Leguminosae sens. lat. The family can be divided into 32 tribes, not all of which occur in the NT. The tribes 
and their constituent genera occurring in the DR are as follows: 
Sophoreae - Sophora; 
Dalbergieae - Dalbergia; 
Abreae - Abrus; 
Tephrosieae - Derris, Pongamia, Tephrosia; 
Robinieae - Sesbania; 
Indigofereae - Indigofera; 
Desmodieae - Dendrolobium, Desmodium, Pycnospora, Uraria, Christia, Alysicarpus; 
Phaseoleae (with subtribes) - 
Erythrininae - Erythrina, Mucuna; 
Diocleinae - Canavalia, Galactia, Calopogonium; 
Glycininae - Glycine; 
Clitoriinae - Centrosema, Clitoria; 
Phaseolinae - Austrodolichos, Vigna, Macroptilium; 
Cajaninae - Cajanus, Dunbaria, Flemingia, Rhynchosia, Eriosema; 
Psoraleeae - Psoralea; 
Aeschynomeneae - Aeschynomene, Smithia, Cyclocarpa, Zornia, Stylosanthes; 
Mirbelieae - Leptosema, Gompholobium, Jacksonia, Daviesia; 
Bossiaeeae - Templetonia, Bossiaea; 
Crotalarieae - Crotalaria 
The family Fabaceae is a major source of plants of economic importance. Many genera are important to the 
NT pastoral industry as sources of fodder plants (Alysicarpus, Calopogonium, Centrosema, Macroptilium, 
Stylosanthes, Vigna) or of plants toxic to livestock (Crotalaria, Indigofera, Tephrosia). Species of a number of 
genera can be weeds under some land uses (Alysicarpus, Calopogonium, Centrosema, Clitoria, Dalbergia, 
Desmodium, Macroptilium, Stylosanthes). Some introduced species of Cajanus, Canavalia, Glycine and 
Vigna are important commercial sources of pulses and legumes. Species of Dalbergia are exploited overseas 
for their timber. The introduced species Clitoria ternatea, Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp., Pterocarpus 
indicus Willd. and Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Poir. are grown locally as ornamentals. A number of genera 
(Clitoria, Eriosema, Flemingia, Mucuna, Vigna) have been analysed by Saxon (1981) as possible sources of 
fuel. Indigofera tinctoria is a source of the blue dye Indigo whilst Derris is a commercial source of insecticide. 
Aboriginal people in the NT have traditionally eaten the root tubers of species of Austrodolichos, Dunbaria, 
