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Crotalaria juncea
Also called Indian Hemp, Madras Hemp, Sann Hemp, Sunn Crotalaria, Benares Hemp, Deccan Hemp, Sun Hemp
Sunn hemp is a fast-growing annual legume from tropical Asia, grown mainly for its strong fibre, forage and as a green manure. It thrives in warm, sunny conditions and can become weedy where it is not controlled.
Crotalaria juncea, known as brown hemp, Indian hemp, Madras hemp, or Sunn hemp, is a tropical Asian plant of the legume family (Fabaceae). It is generally considered to have originated in India.
It is now widely grown in the Indian subcontinent and Brazil for its fiber, which makes it especially useful in the manufacturing of twine, rug yarn and fish nets. This plant is also used as forage for cattle and goats as they have a significant percentage of protein (34.6%). Additionally, according to new research from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Sunn hemp is being looked at as a possible bio-fuel. After being put under experimental research the Sunn hemp was found to have produced 82.4 gigajoules of energy per acre, equivalent to 620 gallons of gas. Although it is a useful plant it can be an invasive weed and has been listed as a noxious weed in some jurisdictions.
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Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Crotalaria juncea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
