Crotalaria spectabilis, the showy rattlebox or showy rattlepod, is a species of flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae. It is native to the Indian Subcontinent, southern China, and Southeast Asia. It is a perennial herb that grows up to tall. It grows in montane grasslands, along forest edges, and within meadows.Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: [http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu]. Last accessed: May 2023. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, E. Arrington, D. Burch, Craig Chappell, Andre F. Clewell, J. A. Duke, Susan H. Elam, D. W. Hall, James W. Hardin, Stan Hutto, R. Karl, Ed Keppner, Lisa Keppner, Gary R. Knight, R. Komarek, Robert L. Lazor, K. MacClendon, Travis MacClendon, Sidney McDaniel, Herbert Monoson, Gary H. Morton, D. H. Rembert, Gary Schultz, D. B. Ward, S. S. Ward, and R. L. Wilbur. States and counties: Alabama: Pike. Florida: Alachua, Bay, Calhoun, Clay, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hardee, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Okaloosa, Suwannee, Wakulla, and Washington. Georgia: Grady and Thomas. Mississippi: Clarke. North Carolina: Bertie, Cumberland, New Hanover, and Onslow. South Carolina: Lexington and Richland. It was introduced (originally as a green manure) to most of the world's tropics and subtropics and is now a serious agricultural pest species. It is toxic to livestock, causing liver damage.
Ecology
Crotalaria spectabilis is insect pollinated and is recorded to have been visited in northern Florida by Lasioglossum apopkense. Ulyshen, M. D., K. Robertson, S. Horn, and C. Dixon. 2024. Characterization of the bee community and pollination network in a southeastern U.S. pine savanna. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 12:1403602.
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