Crotalaria chinensis L.

Species

Angiosperms > Fabales > Fabaceae > Crotalaria

Characteristics

Herbs, 15-60 cm tall, brownish yellow pilose except for legumes. Stems terete, branched at base. Stipules absent. Leaves simple, subsessile; leaf blade variable in shape, usually lan­ceolate, linear-lanceolate, linear, or oblong-linear, 2-3.5 × 0.4-1 cm, abaxially densely brown coarsely pilose but more densely so on veins and along margin, adaxially glabrous or sparsely pilose, base attenuate, apex acuminate. Racemes congested on branch apices, 1-5-flowered or with 1 or 2 flowers in axils; bracts lanceolate, 3-5 mm. Pedicel 2-4 mm; bracteoles inserted at base of calyx tube, similar to bracts. Calyx 2-lipped, 8-10 mm, parted to base; abaxial 3 lobes linear to linear-lanceolate; adaxial 2 lobes broadly lanceolate. Corolla pale yellow, in­cluded in or ± as long as calyx; standard ovate to orbicular, 7-9 mm, base with 2 appendages; wings oblong, 7-9 mm; keel nar­rowed apically from middle and extended into a twisted beak. Ovary subsessile. Legume cylindric, 0.8-1.2 cm, included in or exserted from calyx, 15-20-seeded. Seeds cordate, ca. 2.5 mm, smooth. Fl. Jun-Oct, fr. Sep-Dec.
More
A herb 50-70 cm tall. It is hairy and spreading. The leaves have 3 leaflets. The flowers are blue-purple. They occur non equal stalks along the flower stalk. The fruit is a pod. It is fuzzy and inflated.
Life form perennial
Growth form
Growth support -
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.15 - 0.6
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer rhizobia
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A tropical plant. It grows in undergrowth in the forest. In Yunnan.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 8-12

Usage

Uses -
Edible flowers
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 21 - 30
Germination temperacture (C°) 18 - 23
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment soaking
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Crotalaria chinensis world distribution map, present in China, Indonesia, India, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Taiwan, Province of China, and Viet Nam

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:487951-1
WFO ID wfo-0000198675
COL ID ZNC9
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Crotalaria sinensis Crotalaria kawakamii Crotalaria akoensis Crotalaria chinensis