Order Fabales

Order Fabales

Plants in Order Fabales have seeds in pods and are known as "legumes". Peas, beans and clovers are familiar members of this Order. Most plants in this group have leaves that are compound (divided into leaflets). Fruiting pods are usually dry when ripe and they split open lengthwise to release the seeds. Many leguminous plants have little growths on their roots that house bacteria which "fix" nitrogen from the air, making nitrates that the plant can use. For this reason, clovers are often grown in a fallow (resting) field to make the soil more fertile for crops in following years. [CH] {EN}