Question

Gram belongs to the family of
A. Gramineae
B. Papilionaceae
C. Compositae
D. Solanaceae

Answer 1

Hint: Gram belongs to the family of legumes called leguminosae. It is commonly called the pea family as it includes several varieties of pea plants like Pisum sativum, which is also known as the sweet pea.

Complete answer: Fabaceae, which is commonly called Papilionaceae is the family that includes grams. These are dicotyledonous plants that belong to the subclass, Polypetalae. In Bentham and Hooker’s classification, Fabaceae is one of the three subfamilies of the main family Leguminosae. Later, they divided the Leguminosae into three subfamilies and raised them to the level of main families. Fabaceae or Papilionaceae is the largest and most advanced family among them. Plants of this family are mostly herbs and shrubs. Trees are also present in this family. Roots of these plants bear root nodules that contain symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria like Rhizobium and Bacillus radicicola. The stem of these plants is either erect or climber. Leaves are usually compound, trifoliate, alternate, stipulate, and pulvinate in nature. The inflorescence is mostly of the racemose type which is either axillary or terminal. The fruit of these plants is a legume and seeds are often more than one and non-endospermic in nature. Several types of grams are present. Cicer arietinum is the Bengal gram which is also known as the chickpea. Cajanus cajan is the scientific name of Arhar or red gram. Phaseolus aureus is the Moong or Green gram. Phaseolus mungo is the black gram.
Hence the correct option is B.

Note: Gramineae is the family of grasses and not that of grams. It includes wheat, barley, sorghum, etc. Solanaceae is the potato family that includes several vegetable plants like brinjal, potato, chilies, etc.