Flora of North America species comparison

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Crotalaria retusa

rattleweed
Habit Herbs annual.
Stems

erect, 30–90 cm, strigose to strigose-sericeous.
Leaves

unifoliolate;

stipules sometimes absent, setaceous, not decurrent on stem, 1–2 mm;

blade obovate to spatulate or oblanceolate, 30–80 mm, length 2.2–3(–4) times width, surfaces strigose abaxially, glabrous adaxially.
Racemes

5–24-flowered, terminal, subterminal, or lateral, 10–20(–30) cm;

bracts caducous, linear, 2–3 mm.
Flowers

calyx broadly cylindrical, 12–15 mm, basally truncate, lobes triangular-lanceolate, glabrous or slightly puberulous;

corolla bright yellow, with prominent reddish lines to strongly red-tinted, 20–25 mm.
Legumes

25–40(–50) × 10–14 mm, glabrous.
2n

= 16.

Crotalaria retusa
Phenology Flowering Jul–Oct, Jan–Apr.
Habitat Fallow fields, roadsides, sandy wastes.
Elevation 0–100 m. (0–300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; GA; KY; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America, Asia, Indian Ocean Islands, Pacific Islands, Australia]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

In the flora area, Crotalaria retusa is commonly found in subtropical Florida but much more rarely in temperate areas, where it does not persist.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Crotalaria
Sibling taxa
C. avonensis, C. incana, C. juncea, C. lanceolata, C. ochroleuca, C. pallida, C. pumila, C. purshii, C. rotundifolia, C. sagittalis, C. spectabilis, C. trichotoma, C. verrucosa, C. virgulata
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 715. (1753)
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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