Fabaceae
Crotalaria

Crotalaria brevidens Benth.

First published in London J. Bot. 2: 585 (1843)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Nigeria to NE. & E. Tropical Africa. It is an annual, perennial or subshrub and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome. It is has environmental uses, as animal food and a medicine and for food.

Descriptions

Leguminosae, J. B. Gillett, R. M. Polhill & B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1971

Morphology General Habit
Erect or rarely decumbent annual or short-lived perennial, 5–20 dm. tall, with generally numerous ascending branches from the base upwards.
Morphology Stem
Stem covered with short appressed or somewhat spreading hairs.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 3-foliolate; leaflets linear or lanceolate to narrowly elliptic-oblong or elliptic, up to 40–100(–140) mm. long, 3–20(–33) mm. wide, with the upper ones proportionally longer and narrower, glabrous above, appressed puberulous beneath; petiole ± 20–60 mm. long.
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules absent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes terminal and leaf-opposed, pedunculate, up to 10–48 cm. long, with rather numerousfairly closely arranged flowers; bracts linear-caudate or subulate, expanded at the base, ± 1–3·5 mm. long; bracteoles inserted at the base of the calyx or rarely (and not in East Africa) near the middle of the pedicel, subulate or filiform, 0·5–2 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx becoming truncate and deflexed against the pedicel, 3–8 mm. long, appressed puberulous or (outside East Africa) glabrous; lobes subulate or acuminate, much shorter to longer than the tube.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard ovate or elliptic, cream or more generally clear yellow, veined reddish-brown, glabrous outside; wings a little shorter to a little longer than the keel, often with a dark mark at the base; keel shortly rounded, with a long projecting straight (or sometimes slightly recurved) untwisted beak, 12–24 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pod subsessile, narrowly cylindrical, often a little curved at the ends, (35–)40–50 mm. long, 5–7 mm. across, puberulous or pubescent, with up to 80 or more seeds.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds oblique-cordiform, variable in size, up to 2·5–3 mm. long, smooth, pale yellow to orange.
[FTEA]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Sudanian wooded grassland, Zambezian grassland, Sudanian grasslands, Guinea-Congolia/Sudania regional transitional zone; wooded grassland., Guinea-Congolia/Sudania regional transition zone; grasslands., Lake Victoria regional mosaic; wooded grassl
Morphology General Habit
Annual, Not climbing, Herb
[ILDIS]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Cultivada en Colombia; Alt. 1240 - 1560 m.; Andes.
Morphology General Habit
Subarbusto
[CPLC]

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Andean. Elevation range: 1240–1560 m a.s.l. Cultivated in Colombia. Naturalised in Colombia. Colombian departments: Antioquia, Caldas, Cundinamarca.
Habit
Subshrub.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, shrubland.
[UPFC]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Papilionaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:2. 1958

Diagnostic
Similar to the last (Crotalaria ochroleuca) but with narrower fruits and slightly larger flowers.
[FWTA]

Uses

Use Animal Food
Used as animal food.
Use Environmental
Environmental uses.
Use Food
Used for food.
Use Materials
Used as material.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
[UPFC]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Colombian resources for Plants made Accessible

    • ColPlantA 2021. Published on the Internet at http://colplanta.org
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • International Legume Database and Information Service

    • International Legume Database and Information Service (ILDIS) V10.39 Nov 2011
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0