ABDNHA home | Desert Plants & Wildflowers | Index | Fabaceae

FABACEAE, Legume Family

Plants of the Legume family seen in Anza-Borrego include:

Parch Locoweed, (Astragalus aridus)
Palmer's Locoweed (Astragalus palmeri)
Borrego Milkvetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. borreganus)

Desert Bird-of-Paradise (Caesalpinia virgata)

Blue Palo Verde (Cercidium floridum)

Soft Prairie-Clover (Dalea Molissima)

San Diego Sweet Pea (Lathyrus vestitus var. alefeldii)

Haydon's Lotus (Lotus haydonii)
Broom Lotus (Lotus rigidus)
Short-Wing Deerweed (Lotus scoparius var. brevialatus)
Bishop's/Strigose Lotus (Lotus Strigosus)

Arizona Lupine (Lupinus arizonicus)
Bajada Lupine (Lupinus concinnus)
Stinging Lupine (Lupinus hirsutissimus)

Ironwood (Olneya tesota)

Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa)

Dyeweed or White Dalea (Psorothamnus emoryi)
Indigo Bush (Psorothamnus schottii)
Smoke Tree (Psorothamnus spinosus)

Spiny Senna (Senna armata)
Coue's Cassia (Senna covesii)

The Latin word for bean is faba. The scientific name for the Legume Family is Fabaceae.

Legume Family members such as Mesquite and Catclaw are known for their beans.

Legume Family members like Lupine, Indigo Bush, and Smoke Tree are characterized by their pea-like flowers.

The flowers of Spiny Senna (Senna armata) and the rare Coues' Cassia (Senna covesii) are a golden yellow color.The flowers of the Blue Palo Verde tree (Cercidium floridum ssp. floridum) are a bright yellow.

The flowers of the Ironwood Tree don't appear until after the end of the deasert season and are pink or white.

Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association
P O BOX 310 ( 652 Palm Canyon Drive) Borrego Springs, CA 92004-0310
Office 760-767-3052 | Desert Store & Nature Center 760-767-3098 | FAX 760-767-3099