legume
Enable an agent to recognise a legume plant, assess its development and growing condition, and choose appropriate identification, cultivation or conservation actions.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
recalled by Codex without web access - no source was read
Researched by: Codex
Purpose and description
Enable an agent to recognise a legume plant, assess its development and growing condition, and choose appropriate identification, cultivation or conservation actions.
A legume, in the organism sense used here, is a plant belonging to the flowering-plant family Fabaceae (Leguminosae), whose characteristic fruit develops from a single carpel and typically opens along two sutures.
It can be Identify a plant to the lowest defensible taxonomic rank using vegetative and reproductive evidence.; Track flowering, fruit development, seed maturation and recruitment.; Inspect roots for nodulation and request appropriate evidence before estimating nitrogen fixation.; Compare site conditions and symptoms with the identified legume's growing requirements.; Choose whether propagation, planting, collection, retention or removal is appropriate for the taxon and location.; Refer harvested material to food, feed or seed-lot models while retaining its plant provenance..
Distinguishing features
Use supported placement in Fabaceae to establish the plant sense; an edible seed or a pod-like fruit alone does not establish membership.
Check reproductive structures against an identification key; do not require every legume to have a pea-like flower or a splitting pod.
Separate the plant from its fruit and harvested seed lot by recording what entity was actually observed.
Treat 'pulse' as a crop-use category rather than a synonym for every legume plant.
Do not use root nodules as a universal identification requirement or assume that their presence proves active nitrogen fixation.
Scope
+ Taxonomic identification within Fabaceae and the evidence supporting it
+ Distinction between a taxon, population, individual plant and crop stand
+ Vegetative and reproductive traits used to recognise the plant
+ Life history, reproductive stage and regeneration
+ Growing conditions, root symbioses and plant health
+ Evidence needed to choose cultivation, collection or conservation actions
- Detached legume fruits treated as botanical specimens
- Harvested pulses, fresh vegetables and their nutritional or culinary properties
- Food processing and preparation safety
- Rhizobial organisms considered independently of their relationship with the plant
- Farm business operations and commodity trading
- Whole ecosystem nutrient budgets beyond the plant's measured contribution
Characteristics
- Entity level
- taxon | population | individual | crop stand Prevents species-level descriptions or conservation assessments from being mistaken for observations of one plant.
- Taxonomic determination
- accepted name, rank, authorship, identification source, determination date and uncertainty Anchors recognition and subsequent decisions to an identifiable taxon rather than a common name.
- Growth form and life history
- observed growth form; annual | biennial | perennial | unresolved Distinguishes management and observation needs across herbaceous, climbing and woody legumes.
- Developmental stage
- seed | germinating | vegetative | flowering | fruiting | senescent | dormant; multiple stages permitted Determines which identification evidence and interventions are currently available.
- Reproductive diagnostic traits
- flower arrangement and structure; fruit form, segmentation and opening behaviour; seed traits Supports discrimination from similar plants without assuming a single flower or fruit form.
- Root nodulation evidence
- not examined | nodules observed | no nodules found in examined roots | uncertain Separates an observation of roots from assumptions about symbiosis or nitrogen fixation.
- Nitrogen fixation evidence
- method-specific result and unit, sampled tissue or area, observation interval and uncertainty; unknown if unmeasured Requires explicit evidence before assigning a nitrogen contribution to the plant or stand.
- Growing environment
- soil pH, soil moisture with method and unit, temperature in °C, and dated site observations Allows growing conditions to be compared with evidence for the identified taxon's requirements.
- Geographic and establishment context
- location; cultivated | spontaneous | unresolved; native or introduced status with geographic authority Distinguishes a planted crop from a wild population and supports location-specific decisions.
- Plant health
- observed symptoms, affected organs, severity, extent and diagnostic confidence Supports intervention without treating yellowing, poor growth or damaged roots as a confirmed diagnosis.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.legume
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 28 questions.
Legume identity and boundaries Establish which sense of legume is intended and what biological entity is being described.
The word can denote a plant, a fruit or food material, and those senses support different observations and actions.
Plant sense and entity level
Separate Fabaceae plants from associated products and distinguish levels of biological organisation.
Referent and biological unit
An agent must establish whether the record concerns a plant taxon, population, individual or crop stand before applying traits or assessments.
- Does this record describe a Fabaceae plant, a botanical fruit or harvested food material? boundary
- Which observations apply to the individual or stand, and which are generalisations about its taxon? definition
Taxonomic determination
Connect identification to a taxonomic authority and inspectable evidence.
Supported Fabaceae placement
The plant interpretation requires a supported taxonomic determination, with unresolved identifications retained at an appropriate rank.
- Which accepted name, rank and authorship does the chosen taxonomic authority recognise, and when was that authority consulted? provenance
- Which specimen, images or diagnostic observations support the determination, and do available GBIF or NCBI identifiers resolve to the same taxon? provenance
Diagnostic plant structures Record the structures that support recognition across the diversity of legume plants.
A model based only on familiar pea flowers, compound leaves or splitting pods would misidentify or exclude other forms.
Vegetative recognition
Assess growth habit and vegetative traits when reproductive evidence is unavailable.
Habit, leaves and identification limits
Vegetative identification should retain the combination of observed traits and the limits of the resulting determination.
- What growth form, leaf arrangement, leaflet pattern, stipules or climbing structures are actually visible? measurement
- Which similar plants remain possible until flowers or fruits can be examined? boundary
Flowers, fruits and seeds
Use reproductive characters to refine identification and distinguish the plant from its products.
Reproductive character combination
Flower and fruit observations must be interpreted through an appropriate key rather than a single familiar legume form.
- Which flower structures and fruit characters distinguish this candidate taxon in the identification key being used? definition
- How were fruit maturity, opening behaviour, segmentation and seed arrangement observed? measurement
Life history and regeneration Track establishment, development and reproductive renewal of the legume.
Observation timing, propagation and intervention depend on the plant's life history and reproductive stage.
Development and phenology
Relate observed growth stages to the identified taxon and local growing conditions.
Stage-specific condition
Developmental observations should distinguish expected seasonal change from failed establishment or abnormal decline.
- What evidence establishes the plant's life history and its current vegetative, flowering, fruiting or dormant stages? measurement
- Which dated local observations support judging its development as expected, delayed or impaired? provenance
Reproduction and establishment
Assess seed production, recruitment and propagation constraints.
Reproductive and germination requirements
Pollination, seed viability and dormancy requirements must be established for the identified taxon and material rather than assigned to all legumes.
- What evidence establishes the breeding system, pollination requirements and any relevant differences among reproductive forms? provenance
- Do these seeds require a dormancy-breaking treatment, and what evidence supports the selected germination or propagation procedure? action
Roots, symbiosis and growing condition Evaluate root associations, nutrient claims and environmental constraints.
Legume management often invokes nitrogen fixation, making it essential to separate taxon-level potential, nodulation and demonstrated activity.
Nodulation and nitrogen fixation
Establish what is known about symbiotic capacity and what has been observed in the plant or stand.
Symbiosis evidence
Neither the name legume nor a root nodule observation alone supplies a measured nitrogen fixation rate.
- What evidence supports nodulation capability for this taxon, and what root examination was performed on this plant or stand? provenance
- Was nitrogen fixation measured, and with what method, spatial basis, time interval and uncertainty? measurement
Site fit and stress
Relate growing conditions and symptoms to plausible constraints on growth and symbiotic function.
Condition-led intervention
An intervention requires evidence that distinguishes environmental stress, nutrient limitations and biological damage.
- What soil, moisture, temperature and root-condition observations accompany poor growth or suspected nodulation problems? measurement
- What diagnosis supports changing irrigation, nutrition or inoculation, and how will the plant's response be checked? action
Range, use and stewardship Determine how location, intended use and population status constrain actions involving the legume.
A legume may be a crop, a wild conservation subject or an unwanted introduction; family membership alone does not determine suitable handling.
Geographic and conservation context
Attach range and conservation evidence to the correct taxon, place and assessment date.
Location-specific status
Native range, establishment status and conservation assessments must remain distinct from the condition of an observed individual.
- Which sources establish native range and whether this occurrence is cultivated, introduced or naturally established? provenance
- Is there an applicable IUCN or regional assessment, and what taxon, geography and assessment year does it cover? provenance
Use and action boundaries
Connect intended handling to taxon-specific evidence and neighbouring product models.
Appropriate handling and handoff
Planting, collection and harvest decisions require an identified plant, local context and evidence appropriate to the intended use.
- What taxon-specific and local evidence supports planting, retaining, collecting or removing this legume? action
- If material is harvested for food, feed or propagation, which plant-part identity and provenance must pass to the receiving model? boundary
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- The registry has no recorded sense; the organism interpretation follows domain PHY.LIV, but the fruit and food senses should be checked.
- The listed kinds are overlapping use categories, not formal taxonomic subdivisions.
- Species-level authorities, identifiers, ranges and conservation assessments require a named species; no single binomial or conservation status describes all legumes.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of legume this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Grain legumes, such as lentils and chickpeas
- Oilseed legumes, such as soybean and peanut
- Forage legumes, such as clovers and alfalfa
- Vegetable legumes, such as green beans and garden peas
- Woody legumes, including trees and shrubs
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of legume this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Botanical nomenclature - Fabaceae; alternative family name Leguminosae - These name the family, not a single species; individual species require their own scientific names.
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy - Numeric taxon key - Identifiers distinguish family, species and other taxonomic records.
- NCBI Taxonomy - Numeric TaxID - Taxon identifiers support links to sequence and other biological records.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of legume this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants governs scientific naming and permits both Fabaceae and Leguminosae; revisions are adopted through International Botanical Congresses.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of legume this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Seeds and immature pods provide human food.
- Forage and crop residues provide livestock feed.
- Oil is extracted from soybean and peanut seeds.
- Cover crops and green manures can contribute biologically fixed nitrogen through symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
- Woody species supply timber, fuelwood, shade and ornamental plantings.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of legume this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Some edible legumes contain lectins or other antinutritional compounds requiring suitable processing; inadequately cooked kidney beans can cause acute illness.
- Peanut, soybean and other legumes can cause food allergies.
- Some family members are poisonous and should not be treated as edible merely because they are legumes.
- Nitrogen fixation varies among species and depends on compatible microbes and environmental conditions; family membership alone does not establish fixation.
- Introduced legume species can become invasive outside their native ranges.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of legume this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- The family occurs across tropical, temperate and many dry environments, but individual species have distinct native and introduced ranges.
- Agricultural usage varies: 'pulse' generally denotes a leguminous crop harvested for dry grain and excludes crops harvested green or grown primarily for oil.
- Common names and culinary groupings vary among regions and may not identify a unique species.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of legume this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- legume fruit - The botanical fruit sense denotes a reproductive structure; the organism sense denotes the plant bearing it.
- pulse - A pulse is a dry-grain crop or its harvested seed within a defined agricultural subset of legumes.
- bean - Bean is a common name applied to several legume seeds and plants, and occasionally to unrelated plants; it is not a family-level taxon.
- individual legume plant - An individual is one organism; Fabaceae is a taxonomic family containing many species and populations.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of legume this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
What the second pass must settle
- Does vr.tr.legume intend the Fabaceae plant sense, the botanical fruit sense or a food category, and what registry evidence can settle that boundary?
- Which existing Vercy models already own Fabaceae taxonomy, botanical fruits, pulses or seed lots, and should this entry link to one of them?
- Which taxonomic authority and dated reference should govern accepted names and identifier reconciliation across Fabaceae?
- Which taxon-specific evidence is sufficient to establish nodulation capability and support any nitrogen fixation claim?
- Which regional identification keys, range sources and conservation assessments should support the first operational version of this model?