33. Fabaceae

Also known as the legume or pea family, the Fabaceae is the third largest plant family of all, economically very important, and one of my personal favorites. Just about anything with a bean, a pea, or a pod belongs to this family.

I have encountered many notable species over the years. My Dad grew one of the most notable, a Kentucky yellowwood tree (Cladrastis kentuckea) that lived for decades and reached a considerable height before being removed.  It was only in its afterlife, when the wood was chopped (below), that I fully appreciated its name.

 

Also found on my Dad's property are two kinds of locust tree: black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos). The latter is distinctly memorable due to its long, sharp thorns. All three trees -- yellowwood, black locust and honey locust -- are native to the southeastern U.S. 

A thoroughly striking species that I encountered in Texas is mescalbean, Calia secundiflora, formerly Sophora secundiflora, which I think is a better name. Native to Texas and cultivated as a shrub, I was deeply smitten by the form of its pods and their smooth red beans that sort of resemble Peanut M & M's. Despite the name, this plant has nothing to do with mescaline.

On the west coast I was introduced to equally striking Bauhinia genus, named for the Swiss botanists and sometimes called orchid trees. The decisive encounter occurred at the Fullerton Arboretum. A few years later I noticed native California redbuds (Cercis occidentalis) have a similarly shaped leaf. The decisive encounter in that case occurred in Sequoia National Park. Indeed the trees are related, belonging to the same tribe - the Cercideae tribe. Once I became familiar with redbuds, I discovered that there is an eastern counterpart to the western redbud, appropriately named the eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis). The decisive encounter in that case occurred outside my Mom's church.

Out west I continued to encounter one dazzling leguminous plant after another -- the tropical coral trees (Erythrina genus), more common in southern California; the desert-loving palo verde (Parkinsonia genus), unmistakable with its green bark; the curious pods of the locoweed (Astragalus genus), seen growing on the scruffy edges of range land; the unforgettable carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), source of edible carob but also making a fine street tree; the lovely silver wattle (Acacia dealbata, below), a wonderful Australian import, the only Australian legume that I can think of. 

 

My initial encounter with the silver wattle occurred at the monarch butterfly preserve near Santa Barbara, but I didn't even know its name. That came years later, after multiple encounters in the Salinas Valley, where this particular specimen resides.