Crotalaria quinquefolia L., Fabaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: cascanetas, kaskabeles

English: rattlebox, 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:  Bangladesh, India, southeast Asia, to the Philippines and Solomon Islands (GRIN)

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 Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island		Wagner, W. L./ Herbst, D. R./Weitzman, A./Lorence, D.H. (2013)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 107)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced invasive	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 91) Voucher cited: T. Hosokawa 5903 (BISH) Naturalized
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
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced invasive	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
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 Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago		Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty] (1984) (p. 229) Scattered, not really frequent.
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. (2013)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 273) Widely distributed and locally abundant in openwet lands, rice paddies, etc., at low and medium altitudes.
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 (2013)

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 (2013)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Celebes, Irian Jaya, Java, Sumatra
Indonesia Indonesia	West Papua Province (Indonesia) (western New Guinea Island) (formerly Irian Jaya)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Japan Japan	Japan	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 184)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	uncertain if introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 29) Weed of uncertain origin
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Crotalaria quinquefolia, please let us know.