3669.000 Crotalaria L.

Martins, E.S. et al. (2003) Papilionoideae Flora Zambesiaca 3(7)

Description of the genus

Herbs, shrubs or rarely small trees (capensis and pallidicaulis). Stipules filiform to leaf-like, or 0. Leaves simple, 1-foliolate or digitately 3(-7)-foliolate, usually petiolate. Flowers usually yellow, variously marked, less often white or blue, usually in terminal leaf-opposed or less commonly axillary racemes or heads; bract and paired bracteoles usually present. Calyx usually with 5 subequal lobes. Standard usually with 2 appendages at the base inside; keel rounded to angled, generally with a well-developed beak. Stamens joined in a sheath; anthers arranged alternately with 5 long, basifixed and 5, smaller, dorsifixed. Style curved or geniculate, usually with 1-2 lines of hairs in the upper part, the basal portion thicker than the upper. Legume usually inflated, 1-many seeded.

Worldwide: 600 species throughout the tropics (and subtropics), most numerous in eastern and southern tropical Africa

Rwanda: 36 taxa.

Insects associated with this genus:
Alytarchia amanda (Cheetah) Food plant
Azygophleps scalaris (Sesbania stem borer) Larval foodplant
Coeliades pisistratus (Two-pip policeman) Larval foodplant
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Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesContent
aculeata De Wild. subsp. aculeata Description, Image
aculeata De Wild. subsp. claessensii (De Wild.) Polhill
adenocarpoides Taub.
agatiflora Schweinf. [Agg]
alexandri Baker f.Description, Image
anthyllopsis Welw. ex BakerDescription, Image
becquetii Baker f. ex R.Wilczek subsp. becquetii
brevidens Benth.
cephalotes Steud. ex A.Rich.Description, Image
chirindae Baker f.
chrysochlora Baker f. ex Harms
cleomifolia Welw. ex BakerDescription, Image
deserticola Taub. ex Baker f.
dewildemaniana R.Wilczek
glauca Willd.Description, Image
goreensis Guill. & Perr.Description, Image
incana L. subsp. incana
incana L. subsp. purpurascens (Lam.) Milne-Redh.Description, Image
karagwensis Taub.
laburnifolia L. subsp. laburnifolia Description, Image
lachnophora A. Rich.Description, Image
lebrunii Baker f.
mesopontica Taub. subsp. glabrescens (R.Wilczek) Milne-Redh.
mesopontica Taub. subsp. mesopontica
mildbraedii Baker f.
natalitia Meisn. var. rutshuruensis De Wild.Description, Image
ochroleuca G. DonDescription, Image
ononoides Benth. Description, Image
orthoclada Welw. ex Baker
pallida Aiton [Agg]
pseudotenuirama Torre
quartiniana A.Rich.
recta Steud. ex A. Rich.Description, Image
spartea Baker
spinosa Hochst. ex Benth.Description
vallicola Baker f.

Other sources of information about Crotalaria:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Crotalaria
Flora of Botswana: cultivated Crotalaria
Flora of Burundi: Crotalaria
Flora of Caprivi: Crotalaria
Flora of Malawi: Crotalaria
Flora of Malawi: cultivated Crotalaria
Flora of Mozambique: Crotalaria
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Crotalaria
Flora of Zambia: Crotalaria
Flora of Zimbabwe: Crotalaria
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Crotalaria

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Crotalaria
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Crotalaria
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Crotalaria
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Crotalaria
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Crotalaria
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Crotalaria
JSTOR Plant Science: Crotalaria
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Crotalaria
Plants of the World Online: Crotalaria
Tropicos: Crotalaria
Wikipedia: Crotalaria

Copyright: The Rwanda flora team, 2024-26

The Rwanda flora team (2026). Flora of Rwanda: Genus page: Crotalaria.
https://www.rwandaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=714, retrieved 27 January 2026

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