Flora of North America species comparison

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Crotalaria pallida var. obovata
Photo is of parent taxon

smooth rattlebox
Habit Herbs annual.
Stems

suffrutescent basally, erect, 60–200(–300) cm, moderately to densely strigose to sericeous or glabrescent.
Leaves

3-foliolate;

stipules sometimes absent, linear, 1–3 mm;

leaflet blades broadly obovate to elliptic, elliptic-obovate, or spatulate-obovate, 20–50(–75) mm, length 1.5–2.5 times width, surfaces strigillose abaxially, glabrous adaxially.
Racemes

(8–)12–45-flowered, terminal, 10–30 cm;

bracts caducous, filiform.
Flowers

calyx broadly cylindrical, sometimes basally truncate, not deflexed against pedicels, 3–4 mm, lobes triangular-lanceolate, sparsely to densely strigose;

corolla yellow to orangish, banner and keel strongly red- to reddish brown-lined, 11–15 mm.
Legumes

brown, slightly to conspicuously curved, 30–45 × 5–6 mm, minutely puberulent to glabrate, hairs ascending.
2n

= 16.

Crotalaria pallida var. obovata
Phenology Flowering Jul–Oct, Dec–Apr (year-round).
Habitat Roadsides, old or fallow fields, levees, lake edges, beach margins, disturbed sites, pine woods, dune scrub, palm-live oak edges.
Elevation 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; MS; NC; SC; Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Central America (El Salvador), South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru), Asia, Indian Ocean Islands, Pacific Islands, Australia]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Crotalaria pallida was collected in the flora area as early as 1886 as a ballast weed near Pensacola, Florida, by A. H. Curtis.

Crotalaria striata Schumacher & Thonning is an illegitimate name that pertains here.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Crotalaria > Crotalaria pallida
Synonyms C. obovata, C. falcata
Name authority (G. Don) Polhill: Kew Bull. 22: 265. (1968)
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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