Crotalaria retusa
Summary 5
Crotalaria retusa is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by various common names including devil-bean, rattleweed, shack shack, and wedge-leaf rattlepod. It is poisonous to livestock, and contaminates human food. Its original native range is unclear, probably including tropical Asia, Africa and Australia. It has been introduced as a crop plant in many tropical areas and has escaped from cultivation to become a troublesome weed; it is listed as a noxious weed...
Diagnostic 6
"Erects herbs or subshrubs up to 1.75 m tall; branches striate, minutely pubescent. Leaves 2-8 x 1-3 cm, oblanceolate or obovate, base cuneate, apex obtuse or retuse, glabrous above, puberulent and glaucous below; stipules minute, subulate. Flowers in few to many-flowered terminal racemes; bracts 4-6 mm long, subulate. Calyx 0.8-1 cm long, puberulous without; lobes 5, broadly ovate, acuminate. Corolla 1.5-2 cm long, yellow with red striations; standard orbicular; wings with scaly folds; keels with a line of cottony hairs on inner margin. Staminal sheath 6-7 mm long; filaments 5-7 mm long. Ovary 0.8-1 cm long; ovules many; style 1-1.5 cm long; stigma pubescent. Pods 3-4 x 0.8-1 cm, oblong, cylindrical, slightly broader upwards. Seeds 15-20, c. 3 mm long, light brown to black."
Sources and Credits
- (c) Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/plants_of_russian_in_brazil/2656167521/
- (c) Annika Lindqvist, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Annika Lindqvist
- (c) 106611639464075912591, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by 106611639464075912591, https://picasaweb.google.com/106611639464075912591/AnimalResort#6010948439919212082
- (c) Sunnetchan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Sunnetchan
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalaria_retusa
- (c) India Biodiversity Portal, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/26333309
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- African Plants - a photo guide
- Atlas of Living Australia
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- Catalogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- USDA PLANTS database
- World Flora Online
