CAESALPINIACEAE

Colvillea racemosa

Bauhinia

Cassia grandis

Parkinsonia aculeata

Tamarindus indica

Delonix regia

CAESALPINIACEAE
Bentham and Hooker divided the Leguminosae into three subfamilies : Papilionaceae,Caesalpinieae and mimoseae.Most of the recent taxonomist treat them as three distinct families.

CAESALPINIACEAE is a very big family, mostly tropical and subtropical trees and shrubs comprising about 150 genera and 2,200 species.In India 23 genera and 80 species chiefly in western peninsular india.
Vegetative characters:
Mostly trees or shrubs or rarely herbs. Occasionally woody climbers.
The leaves are stipulate, alternate, and mostly pinnately compound but may be bipinnate or simple.The leaf base is often swollen.
Inflorescence is racemose or pannicle rarely cymose.
The flowers are mostly large and showy, zygomorphic,pentamerous, bisexual and hypogynous or perigynous.
The perianth commonly consists of a calyx and corolla of 5 segments each; the petals are distinct, overlapping (i.e., imbricate) in bud, with the posterior one (flag or banner) innermost in position.
In tamarindus and Amherstia only the Three upper petals are developed and the two lower are reduced to scales.The petals are altogether absent in Saracca.
The androecium usually consists of 1-10 distinct or variously united stamens, some of which are commonly reduced to nonfunctional staminodes.
The pistil is simple, consisting of one style and stigma, and a superior ovary with one locule containing 2-many marginal ovules.
The fruit is usually a legume.
The pollination is by insects or birds and the seed dispersal is by wind or by animals.
Examples:

Bauhinia
Caesalpinia pulcherrima
Tamarindus indica
Cassia
Hardwickia binata
Delonix regia
Saraca indica
Parkinsonia aculeata
Amherstia nobilis
Colvillea racemosa