The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family
Fabaceae
Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,[International Code of Nomen ...](_blank)
. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
,
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
and
Australasia
Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
.
Species include the
pigeon pea
The pigeon pea (''Cajanus cajan'') or toor dal is a perennial legume from the family (biology), family Fabaceae native to the Eastern Hemisphere. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being com ...
(''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range of ''Cajanus'' species includes West Africa, Madagascar and the Comoros, the Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, southern China and Taiwan, Malesia, New Guinea, and northern Australia. Typical habitats include seasonally-dry tropical open forest, woodland, and grassland, often in rocky or disturbed areas. Some species, including ''Cajanus cajan'', have been introduced to the tropical Americas, elsewhere in Africa, and to central Asia.
[
''Cajanus'' species are used as food plants by the ]larva
A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...
species including ''Endoclita malabaricus
''Endoclita malabaricus'' is a species of moth of the family Hepialidae. It is known from the Western Ghats of India. At rest it looks like a dry leaf. The species overlaps in range with '' Endoclita magnus''.
Adult moths are active particularly ...
''.
Species include:Cajanus acutifolius
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus albicans
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*'' Cajanus aromaticus''
*''Cajanus cajan
The pigeon pea (''Cajanus cajan'') or toor dal is a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae native to the Eastern Hemisphere. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being commonly consumed in ...
'' – pigeon pea, Congo-pea
*''Cajanus cajanifolius
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*'' Cajanus cinereus''
*'' Cajanus confertiflorus''
*''Cajanus crassicaulis
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus crassus
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*'' Cajanus elongatus''
*'' Cajanus geminatus''
*''Cajanus goensis
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus grandiflorus
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus heynei
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus hirtopilosus
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus kerstingii
''Cajanus kerstingii'' is a widely ignored shrub found mostly in open savannah conditions across western Africa. It is closely related to the widely utilised ''Cajanus cajan'', otherwise known as pigeon pea. ''Cajanus kerstingii'' can be consume ...
''
*''Cajanus lanceolatus
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus lanuginosus
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus latisepalus
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus lineatus
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus mareebensis
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*'' Cajanus marmoratus''
*''Cajanus mollis
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus niveus
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus platycarpus
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus pubescens
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus reticulatus
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*'' Cajanus scarabaeoides''
*''Cajanus sericeus
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus trinervius
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*''Cajanus villosus
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
*'' Cajanus viscidus''
*''Cajanus volubilis
The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop.
The natural range o ...
''
References
External links
Pigeon pea
(archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...
link, was dead
Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sho ...
)
Phaseoleae
Fabaceae genera
Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle
{{Phaseoleae-stub