Taxon: Crotalaria incana L.

Summary

Genus:

Crotalaria

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Faboideae

Tribe:

Crotalarieae

Nomen number:

12329

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 2:716. 1753

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

12/30/2004 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

55 (21 active, 21 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Crotalaria incana L. subsp. incana (0 active accession[s])
Crotalaria incana L. subsp. incana var. grandiflora Windler et al. (0 active accession[s])
Crotalaria incana L. subsp. incana var. incana (0 active accession[s])
Crotalaria incana L. subsp. incana var. nicaraguensis H. Senn (0 active accession[s])
Crotalaria incana L. subsp. purpurascens (Lam.) Milne-Redh. (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam.
Australian Systematic Botany Society. 1981. Flora of central Australia.
Bernal M., H. Y. 1986. Crotalaria (Fabaceae - Faboideae). In: Pinto, P. & P. M. Ruiz, eds., Flora de Colombia. 4:27.
Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
Burkart, A. E. 1952. Las leguminosas Argentinas - silvestres y cultivadas, ed. 2.
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Correa, J. E. & H. Y. Bernal. 1992. Especies vegetales promisorias de los paises del Convenio Andres Bello. 8:188-200.
Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago.
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Huang, S. F. & T. C. Huang. 1987. Taxonomic treatment of the Papilionoideae (Leguminosae) of Taiwan. Taiwania 32:11-117.
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
León (J. S. Sauget) & Alain (E. E. Liogier). 1946-1969. Flora de Cuba
Liogier, H. A. 1981-. Flora of Hispaniola: Part 1; La Flora de la Española. Part II-.
Liogier, H. A. 1984-. Descriptive flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands.
Lock, J. M. & C. S. Ford. 2004. Legumes of Malesia: a checklist
Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
Lock, J. M. & K. Simpson. 1991. Legumes of West Asia: a checklist
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
Macbride, J. F. et al., eds. 1936-. Flora of Peru Note: 1936-1971; new ser. 1980-
Matos G., F. 1978. El género Crotalaria en Venezuela. Acta Bot. Venez. 13:85.
McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
National Herbarium of New South Wales. 1961-1984. Flora of New South Wales.
Niyomdham, C. 1978. A revision of the genus Crotalaria Linn. (Papilionaceae) in Thailand. Thai Forest Bull., Bot. 11:134.
Polhill, R. M. 1982. Crotalaria in Africa and Madagascar 95.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Proctor, G. R. 1984. Flora of the Cayman Islands. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XI.
Sanjappa, M. 1992. Legumes of India
Steyermark, J. A. et al., eds. 1995-. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Note: Missouri Botanical Garden & Timber Press
Thulin, M. 1983. Leguminosae of Ethiopia. Opera Bot. 68:1-223.
Turland, N. J. & C. E. Jarvis. 1997. Typification of Linnaean specific and varietal names in the Leguminosae (Fabaceae). Taxon 46:467. Note: lectotypify
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Verdcourt, B. 1979. A manual of New Guinea legumes.
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.
Yang, C. Y. 1983. On the problems of the classification of Crotalaria in China. Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin 3(4):100.
Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.

Common names

Language	Name	Alternate name	note	seq	Citation
English	silver rattlepod			1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	woolly rattlepod			1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Nigeria			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Burundi			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Cameroon			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Rwanda			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Madagascar			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Yemen			Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Baja California Sur		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Chihuahua		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Coahuila de Zaragoza		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Nuevo León		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	San Luis Potosí		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sinaloa		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Zacatecas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Campeche		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Colima		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guanajuato		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Hidalgo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Nayarit		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Puebla		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Querétaro		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Quintana Roo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Yucatán		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
1	Native	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil	Bahia
1	Native	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil	Pará
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Anguilla			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Antigua and Barbuda			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Bahamas			Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Barbados			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Cayman Islands			Proctor, G. R. 1984. Flora of the Cayman Islands. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XI.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Cuba			León (J. S. Sauget) & Alain (E. E. Liogier). 1946-1969. Flora de Cuba
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Dominica			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Dominican Republic			Liogier, H. A. 1981-. Flora of Hispaniola: Part 1; La Flora de la Española. Part II-.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Grenada			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Guadeloupe			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Haiti			Liogier, H. A. 1981-. Flora of Hispaniola: Part 1; La Flora de la Española. Part II-.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Jamaica			Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Martinique			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Netherlands Antilles
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	St. Vincent and Grenadines	Saint Vincent		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico		Liogier, H. A. 1984-. Descriptive flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Virgin Islands, U.S.		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Virgin Islands (British)			Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Belize
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	El Salvador
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Honduras
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Panama			Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Paraguay
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Uruguay			Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Bolivia
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador			Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Peru			Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
4	Naturalized					natzd. elsewhere in tropics

Native
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Nigeria
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Yemen

Northern America

NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Baja California Sur]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Anguilla, Netherlands Antilles, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, United States [Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, U.S.], St. Vincent and Grenadines [Saint Vincent], Virgin Islands (British)
CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Guyana
BRAZIL: Brazil [Bahia, Pará]
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay

Naturalized (natzd. elsewhere in tropics)

Reference(s)

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago.
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
León (J. S. Sauget) & Alain (E. E. Liogier). 1946-1969. Flora de Cuba
Liogier, H. A. 1981-. Flora of Hispaniola: Part 1; La Flora de la Española. Part II-.
Liogier, H. A. 1984-. Descriptive flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands.
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
Proctor, G. R. 1984. Flora of the Cayman Islands. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XI.
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:739.
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.
Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Reference
Vertebrate poisons	mammals	Polhill, R. M. 1982. Crotalaria in Africa and Madagascar 95.
Vertebrate poisons	mammals	Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
Weed		Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=12329. Accessed 17 April 2026.