Flora of North America species comparison

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Crotalaria lanceolata

Crotalaria rotundifolia

lanceleaf rattlebox

rabbitbells
Habit Herbs perennial.
Stems

prostrate to decumbent or ascending, 10–70 cm, strigose or strigose-sericeous to hirsute-villous.
Leaves

unifoliolate;

stipules lanceolate-auriculate or triangular, with 2 distinct lobes, decurrent on mid and distal stems, 2–10 mm;

blade broadly elliptic, elliptic-ovate, ovate, broadly lanceolate, linear, linear-lanceolate, or obovate-oblanceolate, 9–50 mm, length 1–2.5(–12) times width, surfaces strigose to strigose-hirsute.
Racemes

(1 or)2–5-flowered, terminal, subterminal, or lateral, 4–20 cm;

bracts persistent, linear-subulate to lanceolate.
Flowers

calyx broadly cylindrical, 5–9 mm, lobes triangular-lanceolate, glabrous or slightly puberulous;

corolla bright yellow, banner sometimes red-lined, 7–13 mm.
Legumes

12–28 × 7–12 mm, glabrous.

Crotalaria lanceolata

Crotalaria rotundifolia
Distribution
from USDA
Africa [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
se United States; Mexico; Central America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 3–5 (1 in the flora).

Subspecies exigua Polhill and subsp. prognatha Polhill are known from Africa.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaves usually spreading, blades broadly elliptic to elliptic-ovate, ovate, or broadly lanceolate, 9–20 × 10–15 mm, lengths mostly 1–2.5 times widths.
var. rotundifolia
1. Leaves usually ascending-erect, blades linear to linear-lanceolate, or obovate-oblanceolate on proximal 1/3 of stems, linear distally, 10–50 × 1–4 mm, lengths 5–12 times widths.
var. linaria
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Crotalaria Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Crotalaria
Sibling taxa
C. avonensis, C. incana, C. juncea, C. ochroleuca, C. pallida, C. pumila, C. purshii, C. retusa, C. rotundifolia, C. sagittalis, C. spectabilis, C. trichotoma, C. verrucosa, C. virgulata
C. avonensis, C. incana, C. juncea, C. lanceolata, C. ochroleuca, C. pallida, C. pumila, C. purshii, C. retusa, C. sagittalis, C. spectabilis, C. trichotoma, C. verrucosa, C. virgulata
Subordinate taxa
C. lanceolata subsp. lanceolata
C. rotundifolia var. linaria, C. rotundifolia var. rotundifolia
Name authority E. Meyer in E. Meyer and J. F. Drège: Comm. Pl. Afr. Austr., 24. (1836) J. F. Gmelin: Syst. Nat. 2: 1095. (1792)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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