The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

. 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 (''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''. Species include: *'' Cajanus acutifolius'' *'' Cajanus albicans'' *'' Cajanus aromaticus'' *'' Cajanus cajan'' – pigeon pea, Congo-pea *'' Cajanus cajanifolius'' *'' Cajanus cinereus'' *'' Cajanus confertiflorus'' *'' Cajanus crassicaulis'' *'' Cajanus crassus'' *'' Cajanus elongatus'' *'' Cajanus geminatus'' *'' Cajanus goensis'' *'' Cajanus grandiflorus'' *'' Cajanus heynei'' *'' Cajanus hirtopilosus'' *'' Cajanus kerstingii'' *'' Cajanus lanceolatus'' *'' Cajanus lanuginosus'' *'' Cajanus latisepalus'' *'' Cajanus lineatus'' *'' Cajanus mareebensis'' *'' Cajanus marmoratus'' *'' Cajanus mollis'' *'' Cajanus niveus'' *'' Cajanus platycarpus'' *'' Cajanus pubescens'' *'' Cajanus reticulatus'' *'' Cajanus scarabaeoides'' *'' Cajanus sericeus'' *'' Cajanus trinervius'' *'' Cajanus villosus'' *'' Cajanus viscidus'' *'' Cajanus volubilis''

References

External links

Pigeon pea
(

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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