Fabaceae Lecture Exam

Question 1

Where are most of the species in the Fabaceae family found, and what kind of plants are they?

Answer 1

Trees and woody forms are most commonly found in tropical and subtropical regions, while the herbaceous forms mainly occur outside of the tropics

Question 2

What is the most important export crop in the U.S.?

Answer 2

soybean

Question 3

What is meant by the statement, “Beans are a New World crop?”

Answer 3

All ~70 sp. are native to the Americas

Question 4

Why is pea an early season crop?

Answer 4

It is a cool season crop

Question 5

What do clover leaves look like?

Answer 5

Clover leaves are palmately compound (trifoliate) with long petioles at the base of the plant and greatly reduced petioles near the growing points

Question 6

Is peanut an old-world crop?

Answer 6

No, they are a New-World crop, since they are likely a hybrid between 2 South American species

Question 7

What is geocarpy?

Answer 7

Pods developing underground

Question 8

What genus was said to contain two species that were “of special concern” in Minnesota?

Answer 8

Baptisia (blue indigo)

Question 9

What Fabaceae species was described as bring capable of growing roots 49 feet into the ground?

Answer 9

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

Question 10

What species was described as being capable of growing 30 feet a year?

Answer 10

Kudzu (Pueraria montana)

Question 11

What are the three kinds of petals in a papilionaceous flower?

Answer 11

-Banner (two petals)
-Wings (petals)
-Keel (one petal under the wings)

Question 12

What does papilionaceous mean?

Answer 12

“butterfly-like”

Question 13

What would be the four-character key that would describe the Fabaceae plant family?

Answer 13

-leaves compound
-fruit in the form of a pod, ‘bean-like’
-pea or bean-like seeds that are attached to a placental trace
-most can ‘fix’ atmospheric nitrogen

Question 14

What are the main uses of soybean?

Answer 14

~85% is processed into meal and oil (2nd most consumed oil in the world)
over 97% of the meal is processed into livestock feed (offers a complete protein profile w/o saturated fats)

Question 15

What group of plants were described as being one of the oldest and most nutritious foods known?

Answer 15

Beans

Question 16

Why is peanut oil so useful?

Answer 16

-popular for cooking due to its high smoke point and being monoUNsaturated

Question 17

What is the main use for licorice?

Answer 17

As a flavoring agent in tobacco products

Question 18

What would be one obvious solution to the kudzu problem?

Answer 18

Use as a high-quality animal feed!

Question 19

What is the kudzu problem?

Answer 19

It is a highly-invasive “wild weed”

Question 20

What is the #5 top crop grown in the U.S., and what is it primarily used for?

Answer 20

Alfalfa, as animal feed

Question 21

What attributes might make False blue indigo a good choice for a landscape plant?

Answer 21

It will grow in dry, nutrient poor, full sun sites

Question 22

What genus was eliminated from grass seed mixes in the 1950s? Why should we consider re-introducing it?

Answer 22

Trifolium (Clover)
-it is a legume, so it can fix N and pull essential nutrients from deeper in the ground
-great for pollinators

Question 23

What are some impacts of kudzu in U.S. ecosystems?

Answer 23

It is an invasive sp.
-spreads 2,500 acres per year
-costs $500 million loss in forest productivity/year
-~$2,000/acre to control it

Question 24

What is the threat the Large-leaf Lupine will pose in the environment?

Answer 24

It will hybridize with native lupine and the hybrids will outcompete the natives
-the Karner blue butterfly then loses its host plant