Cajanus
pigeon pea (C. cajan)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Phaseoleae
Subtribe: Cajaninae
Genus: Cajanus
Adans. (1763), nom. cons.
Species[1]

34; see text

Synonyms[2][3][4]
  • Atylosia Wight & Arn. (1834)
  • Cajan Adans. (1763), orth. var.
  • Cajanum Raf. (1838)
  • Cantharospermum Wight & Arn. (1834)
  • Endomallus Gagnep. (1915)

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 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.[1]

Cajanus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Endoclita malabaricus.

Species include:[1][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Cajanus Adans. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  2. ^ Maesen, L. J. G. van der. 1986. "Cajanus and Atylosia W. & A. (Leguminosae)". Agric. Univ. Wageningen Pap. 85–4:43.
  3. ^ a b "Genus Nomenclature in GRIN". Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  4. ^ Kew Archived 2016-12-30 at the Wayback Machine

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cajanus.
Wikispecies has information related to Cajanus.


Taxon identifiers
Authority control databases: National
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