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Crotalaria retusa
Also called Rattlepod, Big Yellow Popbush, Devil Bean, Rattlebox, Wedge Leaf Crotalaria, Wedge Leaf Rattlepod, Yellow Rattlebox
In Singapore: Rattleweed, Shak-Shak, Rattlebox, Wedge-leaf Rattlebox, 吊裙草, 凹叶野百合, 洛苛草
Rattleweed (Crotalaria retusa) is an annual legume from the tropics, grown as a fibre crop and green manure. It is a weed in many areas, and its seeds and pods are poisonous to livestock.
Crotalaria retusa is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by various common names including devil-bean, rattleweed, shack shack, and wedge-leaf rattlepod. It is poisonous to livestock, and contaminates human food. Its original native range is unclear, probably including tropical Asia, Africa and Australia. It has been introduced as a crop plant in many tropical areas and has escaped from cultivation to become a troublesome weed; it is listed as a noxious weed in several US states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and is listed as an invasive weed in India, Cuba, and Cocos Island. Unlike some other species of Crotalaria, it is an annual plant.
In Australia, where it is considered a native, it grows in the Kimberley on sand, clay, sandstone, and rocky basaltic soils, and is found along creeks and rivers, and on the floodplains.
Crotalaria retusa is grown as a fibre crop and as green manure. It is also used as a forage plant, but is poisonous to livestock.
Birdflower · Sunn hemp · Birdflower · Longbeak rattlebox · Smooth rattlebox · Showy rattlebox
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Crotalaria retusa 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.
