atoll research bulletin no. 392 the flora of - Smithsonian Institution ...

Crotalaria retusa L. " rattlepod"
Recent introduction. Trop. Asia. Rare. Coarse short-lived subshrub or stiff herb,
40 to 100 cm high, with pilose ribbed stems; leaves, 4 to 8 cm long and 1.5 to 2.5 cm
wide, simple, alternate, obovate-oblong to oblanceolate, rounded, emarginate or mucro-
nate, cuneate at base, shortly-stalked, finely pubescent, the hairs minute and closely
appressed; stipules, 1 to 5 mm long, subulate; petioles, about 3 mm long; inflorescence,
a dense terminal many-flowered raceme, up to 30 cm long; flowers, 2 to 3 cm long,
borne on short downward bent pedicels; calyx, 2-lipped, the upper deeply bifid, the
lower 3-toothed; petals bright yellow, the standard, about 2 cm high and 3 cm wide,
reflexed, yellow marked with purplish veins or blotches, the wings, about 1.5 cm long,
yellow, almost hiding the keel, the keel with a short twisted beak; pods, 3 to 5 cm long
and 1.3 to 1.8 cm wide, oblong-clavate, inflated, dehiscent, held horizontally, black
when dry; seeds, about 20, about 4 mm long, yellowish or golden-brown. Weed of
ruderal habitats and roadsides. 4(158N).
Crotalaria spectabilis Roth
syn. C. sericea Retz.
"rattlepod"
Recent introduction. India and Paleotropics. Occasional. Erect robust, smooth-
stemmed subshrub, up to 1 m or higher, leaves, 5 to 13 cm long, obovate, oblanceolate
or sometimes spoonshaped, base acuininate or cuneate, shortly petiolate, glabrous above,
with soft silky hairs (villose) below; stipules sessile and persistent; inflorescence, a loose
peduncle, 30 cm or longer, bearing 20 or more flowers; flowers, 2.5 cm or longer,
bright yellow or purple?; floral bracts, leaflike, oval or cordate; calyx, about 12 mm
long, glabrous, cleft more than halfway to the base; pods. 2.5 to 5 cm long, 2-valved,
bladder-shaped, glabrous, containing a small number of seeds, which at maturity become
loose in the pod. Weed near Buada Lagoon, in gardens, and near coast in Nibok;
occasionally cultivated in home gardens. 3(58647), 4, 6, 7, 8(9579).
Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub. "cluster bean", "guar" (Hindi)
syns. C. psoraloides (Lam.) DC. ; Psoralea tetragonoloba L. ; Dolichos psora-
loides Lam.
Pre-World War I1 introduction. India. Extinct. Robust bushy annual, 1 to 3 m
high, with stiff, erect, angled, grooved, white-pilose branches; leaves, alternate,
trifoliate; leaflets, ovate, sparsely serrate; inflorescence, a dense axillary raceme bearing
6 to 30 solitary flowers in axils of caducous bracts; calyx, cupuliform, oblique, the
lowermost tooth the longest; petals 5, strongly veined, the standard, about 8 mm long,
o b o v a f e ; - m ~ e d , ~ t e ; ~ ~ ~ m f K t h ~ 1 , p i ~ pms ~ s ~ t n e
erect, slightly gibbous or short-calcarate; pods, 4 to 10 cm long, linear, compressed, with
a marked beak, a double ridge on the dorsal side and a single ridge on the ventral side,
septate between the seeds, dehiscent, borne in stiff erect clusters; seeds 5 to 12, about 5