Crotalaria brevidens Benth., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Crotalaria intermedia Kotschy

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Ethiopian rattlebox, slender-leaf crotalaria

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annual herbs; stems erect, up to 15 dm long, striate, appressed short-pubescent.  Leaves trifoliolate, leaflets narrowly elliptic or narrowly lanceolate, 2.2-8 cm long, 0.2-0.8 cm wide, veins 7-10 on each side of midvein, upper surface glabrous or sparsely pubescent, lower surface appressed short-pubescent, apex rounded or acute, occasionally mucronulate, base cuneate or rounded, petioles 13-30 mm long, stipules absent.  Flowers 11-18.5 mm long, 12-20 in terminal, somewhat lax inflorescences, rachis 10-30 cm long (incl. peduncle), bracts linear-triangular, 2-3 mm long, spreading, usually persistent, bracteoles at base of calyx, linear-triangular; calyx glabrous or nearly so, the tube 3.9-4 mm long, the lobes 1.3-2 mm long, lateral lobes distinct at apex; petals yellow with lines near base, standard ca. 12 mm long, ca. 10 mm wide, wings oblong, ca. 14 mm long, ca. 5 mm wide, keel petals striate, with non-twisted beak prolonged, margins ciliate; elongated anthers ca. 5 mm long, short ones ca. 1 mm long.  Pods brown at maturity, (2.2-) 4-5 cm long, stipitate, the stipe less than 3 mm long, appressed short-pubescent.  Seeds ca. 75 or more per pod, yellowish orange, 2.2-3 mm long, smooth"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 658).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i (Maui), "locally common along roadsides and in waste areas adjacent to pineapple fields"  (Oppenheimer, 2003; p. 12).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Africa  (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	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 658) East Maui. Voucher cited: Hobdy 2012 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2003) (p. 12) West Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H60102 (BISH, PTBG), Oppenheimer H700131 (BISH)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011) Louisiana. Var. intermedia (Kotschy) Polhill

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

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

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

References:

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2011. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

Oppenheimer, Hank L. 2003. New plant records from Maui and Hawai‘i Counties. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 73:3-30.

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.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

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).