Crotalaria longirostrata Hook. & Arn., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: castanet plant, long-beak rattlepod, longbeak rattlebox

Spanish: chipilín, chipilín de comer

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Erect shrubs or small trees; stems 8-30 dm long, ridged, appressed short-pubescent.  Leaves trifoliolate, leaflets elliptic, 1.3-5 cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, veins 7-12 on each side of midvein, upper surface glabrous, lower surface appressed short-pubescent, apex rounded, base cuneate or rounded, petioles 10-30 mm long, stipules linear-triangular, 2-2.5 mm long.  Flowers 11-14 mm long, 7-35 in terminal, somewhat lax inflorescences, rachis 5-32 cm long (incl. peduncle), bracts linear-triangular, 1.5-3 mm long, pendent, usually persistent, bracteoles at mid-pedicel, linear-triangular; calyx appressed short-pubescent, the tube 5-7 mm long, the lobes 5-7 mm long, lateral lobes distinct at apex; petals greenish yellow with wine-colored lines near base, standard 10-15 mm long, 11-15.3 mm wide, wings oblong-elliptic, 9-11 mm long, 4.2-6/5 mm wide, keell petals with twisted beak prolonged, margins ciliate; elongated anthers 2-2.8 mm long, short ones 0.5-0.7 mm long.  Pods brown at maturity, 12.7-2.4 cm long, stipitate, stipe up to 1.2 mm long, appressed short-pubescent.  Seeds ca. 16 per pod, tan to brown, 2.5-3.2 mm long, smooth"  (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 660-661).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized along roadsides and in pastures, 400-610 m"  (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 660-661).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Mexico and Central America (GRIN). Mexico (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 660-661).

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. 660-661)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 660-661) East Maui
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 660-661)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 660-661) Voucher cited: Heller 2033 (BISH)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Jaluit (Jãlwõj) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 106)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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

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

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

References:

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Fosberg, F. Raymond. 1990. A review of the natural history of the Marshall Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 330. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 100 pp.

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).