Crotalaria quinquefolia L., Fabaceae

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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:  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 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. (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) 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. (2011)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
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		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 90)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
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 (2011)

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 (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	West Papua Province (Indonesia) (western New Guinea Island) (formerly Irian Jaya)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 184)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011) Probably present
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
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. (2011)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

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

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

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

References:

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

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.

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

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

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

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

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.

Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty]. 1984. Flora of the Bismarck Archipelago for naturalists. Office of Forests, Division of Botany, Lae, Papua New Guinea. 638 pp. ISBN 9980-66-000-7.

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. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.