Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: cascanetas, kaskabeles

English: rattlepod

Fijian: mboa

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Coarse erect branching herb 1-2 m tall, the stems greenish, grooved; leaves long-petiolate, usually with 5 (rarely 7) leaflets, these lanceolate, elliptic, subsessile, 2.5-12 cm long and 2 cm wide, obtuse, puberulent dorsally; flowers in terminal raceme, yellow, the standard with purplish nerved; calyx glabrous, half as long as the petals; pod oblong, glabrous, stipitate, inflated, about 5 cm long, brownish, with 30-40 seeds"  (Stone, 1970; p. 328).

Habitat/ecology:  In Guam, found along roadsides, in old fields and in waste ground.  An aggressive weed  (Stone, 1970; p. 328).  In Fiji, "apparently adventive on grassy forehills at low elevations" (Smith, 1985; p. 271). In New Caledonia, "représenté par deux récoltes anciennes mais jamais retrouvé" (MacKee, 1994; p. 82).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Indo-malaysian.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 107)
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 107)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Matuku Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 271-272) Voucher cited: Bryan 281
Fiji Fiji Islands	Mbengga Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 271-272) Voucher cited: Tothill 100
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 271-272) Voucher cited: Greenwood 783
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced invasive	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 328) Voucher cited: Stone 4311 (GUAM)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 107)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 82) Present status not know. Vouchers cited: Lahaie 1340, Vieillar 359
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2005)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2005)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 90)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2005)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 60)
Tonga Tonga Islands	Tonga Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 90)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Vanuatu (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2005)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2005)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2005)
Indonesia Indonesia	Irian Jaya (West Papua) (Indonesia) (western New Guinea Island)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2005)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007) Probably present
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2005)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2005)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2005)

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

Taxonomic information about Crotalaria quinquefolia 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.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2005. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Smith, Albert C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 3. 758 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.