Crotalaria assamica Benth., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: da zhu shi dou

English: Indian rattlebox

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Subshrubs; stems erect or ascending, up to 20 dm long, ridged, densely short-pubescent.  Leaves simple, elliptic to oblanceolate, 7.8-16.5 cm long, 2.4-3.6 cm wide, veins 13-16 on each side of midvein, upper surface glabrous and slightly punctate, lower surface appressed short-pubescent, apex obtuse to acute, usually mucronulate, base cuneate, petioles 4-6 mm long, stipules minute, subulate.  Flowers 18-25 mm long, 12-22 in somewhat lax inflorescences, rachis 15-29 cm long (incl. peduncle), bracts narrowly triangular, 2.5-3.3 mm long, spreading, usually persistent, bracteoles at mid-pedicel, narrowly triangular; calyx appressed short-pubescent, the tube 4.5-7 mm long, the lobes 8-10 mm long, lateral lobes distinct at apex; petals yellow, standard 15-16 mm long, wings oblong, 12-13 mm long, 6-7.5 mm wide, claws 3.9-4.1 mm long, keel petals short, beak slightly twisted, margins ciliate; elongated anthers 2.6-5 mm long, short ones 0.8-0.9 mm long.  Pods dark brown at maturity, 3.5-5 cm long, short-stipitate, glabrous.  Seeds ca. 30 per pod, dark brown, up to 4 mm long, smooth"  (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 657-658).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in disturbed mesic sites, 480-560 mm"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 658).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Native to India  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 658).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 657-658)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Martz, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2002) (p. 20) Vouchers cited: Starr & Martz 010309-2 (BISH); East Maui: R. Hobdy 3593 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2006) (p. 35) Voucher cited: Starr, Starr, Buchanan & Hart 050518-5 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 657-658) Voucher cited: Mann & Brigham 62 (BISH)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 271) Occasional in ravines, thickets, etc., at low and medium altitudes.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) "Montane grasslands, along trails; below 100-3000 m".
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 184)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) "Montane grasslands, along trails; below 100-3000 m".
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Crotalaria assamica is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Crotalaria assamica as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Crotalaria assamica may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 2 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 530 pp.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Starr, Forest/Martz, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. 2002. New plant records from the Hawaiian archipelago. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2000. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 69:16-27.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. 2006. New plant records from the Hawaiian Archipelago. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2004-2005. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 87:31-43.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).