The Leguminosae is an economically important family in the Dicotyledonae with many cultivated species, e. g., beans and peas. The family also contains many well-known medicinal plants. It is composed of 17,000 or more species that constitute nearly one twelfth of the world's flowering plants (1). Traditionally the family has been divided into three subfamilies, Caesalpinioideae, Mimosoideae and Papilionoi deae, which are sometimes recognized as separate families Caesalpinia ceae, Mimosaceae and Papilionaceae. The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature permits alternative nomenclatures,...