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Sesbania punicea
Also called Brazilian Glory Pea, Coffeeweed, Rattlepod, Red Sesbania, Brasilean Glory Pea, Glory Pea, Scarlet Sesbane
Rattlebox is a fast-growing, deciduous shrub or small tree with drooping red-orange flowers, grown mainly outdoors in warm climates. It needs plenty of moisture and thrives in wet or marshy spots.
Sesbania punicea (Spanish gold, rattlebox, or scarlet sesban) is an ornamental shrub with reddish-orange flowers native to South America. It has deciduous leaves and grows to a height of 15 feet (4.5 m). This plant has a high demand for water, and thrives in swamps or wet areas. It requires a mildly acidic soil, with a pH between 6.1 and 6.5.
Sesbania puniceas contains toxic saponic glycosides. The poison can be dangerous to local birds and mammals. Humans who ingest this plant or its seeds may become very sick and may suffer vomiting, diarrhea, respiratory failure, and death.
The species is native to Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. It has spread to other parts of South America and many coastal southern United States as well as to parts of Africa. Due to its high demand for water, this species is often found on marshy shorelines. It also forms dense thickets and thrives in disturbed areas.
Dunchi fiber · Sesbania · Sesbania chippendalei · Poisonbean · Dragon Flowertree · Vegetable hummingbird · Bigpod sesbania · Sesbania madagascariensis · Sesbania mossambicensis · Sesbania pachycarpa · Sesbania rostrata · Papagayo
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sesbania punicea 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.
