This plant family has been useful for humans for thousands of years, containing many important food crops such as beans, peanuts, lentils, chickpeas, soybeans, alfalfa, carob, and liquorice. Some species are used in the garden as helpful cover crops, protecting your soil from erosion while simultaneously fixing nitrogen from the air through a symbiotic relationship with Rhizobia bacteria. In general, the 18,000+ species in this large family prefer to grow in tropical locations with plenty of sun and well-drained, neutral pH soils. They can grow as trees, shrubs, or vines, have either annual or perennial life cycles, and are easily recognizable by their seed pods and compound leaves.
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