Crotalaria eremaea, also known as the bluebush pea or loose-flowered rattlepod, is a species of legume native to Australia and occurring in all mainland states and territories except for Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. [2][3]
| Crotalaria eremaea | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Crotalaria |
| Species: | C. eremaea
|
| Binomial name | |
| Crotalaria eremaea | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Crotalaria dissitiflora Benth. | |
Description edit
Crotalaria eremaea grows as a perennial herb or softwooded shrub up to 2m tall.[2][3][4] Stems are glabrous, tomentose or pubescent. Leaves are 1- or 3-foliate, with a larger terminal leaflet 10-80 mm long, and two smaller lateral leaflets less than 10 mm long or absent. Leaflets are pubescent and narrow-elliptic, oblong, or ovate, and are borne on petioles 18-45 mm long. [2][3][4]
Flowers are borne on a terminal raceme 6-40 cm long, with 15-30 flowers on each. Calyx is pubescent and around 5 mm long. Corolla is bright yellow and 10-20 mm long. Pods are narrow-obovate, 15-30 mm long, and contain yellow seeds around 3.5 mm long. [2][3]
Crotalaria eremaea grows in sandy soils across most of the inland of Australia. [2][5]
Taxonomy edit
Crotalaria eremaea was first described by Ferdinand von Mueller from a specimen collected by Augustus Charles Gregory near 'Cooper's River and its tributaries'.[6]
Two subspecies are currently accepted:
References edit
- ^ "Australian Plant Name Index". Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- ^ a b c d e "Crotalaria eremaea". PlantNet. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- ^ a b c d e "Fact sheet for Crotalaria eremaea". Electronic Flora of South Australia. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
- ^ a b Falster, D.; Gallagher, R.; et al. (2021). "AusTraits, a curated plant trait database for the Australian flora". Scientific Data. 8: 254. doi:10.1038/s41597-021-01006-6.
- ^ a b "Crotalaria eremaea: Bluebush Pea". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
- ^ Mueller, Ferdinand von (1859). "Enumeration of plants collected by A.C. Gregory, esq., along and near Cooper's River and its tributaries in sub-central Australia". New South Wales - Parliamentary papers - Votes and proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, 1858-9. 2.