Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Crotalaria spectabilis
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about Showy Rattlebox from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Crotalaria spectabilis
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Crotalaria spectabilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Crotalaria spectabilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-11-004:
Crotalaria spectabilis FAMILY Fabaceae
(?) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Crotalaria retzii
COMMON NAME:
Showy Rattlebox
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm081009_200
October Dorchester County SC
McAlhany Nature Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm081009_202
October Dorchester County SC
McAlhany Nature Preserve
Leaves have short petioles and are smooth above, densely hairy beneath, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm081009_202b
October Dorchester County SC
McAlhany Nature Preserve
Legume (pod) cylindric with hairlike tip, appearing inflated, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm081009_207
October Dorchester County SC
McAlhany Nature Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm161001_064
September Chesterfield County SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
)
JK Marlow jkm161001_066
September Chesterfield County SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
Leaves 2-6" long, obovate, tapering to the base, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm161001_067
September Chesterfield County SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
Pedicels subtended by a persistent 7-12mm bract & bearing two 1mm bractlets, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Sharleen Johnson shj_559311122305488
December Charleston County SC
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area
)
Sharleen Johnson shj_834733144467100
December Charleston County SC
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area
)
John D. Byrd, Mississippi State University, Bugwood.org bug_1391154
Month Unknown
Flowers deep yellow, pea-like, borne in a showy many-flowered raceme, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Wendy VanDyk Evans, Bugwood.org bug_2190030
Month Unknown
)
Wendy VanDyk Evans, Bugwood.org bug_2190032
Month Unknown
Seeds rattle in the inflated ripened pods, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Crotalaria spectabilis
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Crotalaria spectabilis
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Crotalaria spectabilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Crotalaria spectabilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-11-004:
Crotalaria spectabilis
FAMILY
Fabaceae
(?)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Crotalaria retzii
408
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: southern Asia
Common (rare in Mountains)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
LEAVES:
Simple
Mostly alternate
Stipules tardily deciduous
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Yellow
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed campanulate calyx
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
10 stamens, monadelphous, of 2 lengths
Superior ovary
Flowers in racemes
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p048
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p403
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p552
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p219
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p212
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p031
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p190
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p130
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p168
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p075
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p327
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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