Crotalaria pallida Aiton

Scientific Description

Erect, herb. Stems terete, not spiny, hairy; pustules or glands absent. Leaves or phylloclades clearly present, compound, alternate, not continuous with stem, 85-95 mm long, hairy, with simple hairs, flat with flat margins; margins entire; tubercles absent, pinnately arranged, terminal leaflet present, stalked; pustules or glands absent. Stipules apparently absent even from the youngest leaves or present and persistent to older leaves. Bracteoles present and persistent. Calyx 6-7.2 mm long, not accrescent, hairy, with simple hairs, ribless; pustules or glands absent. Corolla 12-14.5 mm long, uniformly coloured, yellow; claws present; standard 11-13 mm long, glabrous, not auriculate, wings 11.5-12 mm long, not auriculate, keel 12-14.5 mm long, beaked, not auriculate, glabrous. Stamens ten; anthers 0.5-2.4 mm long, at two different levels (filaments alternately long and short); filaments united in an open sheath, 12-14 mm long. Ovary stipitate or sessile or subsessile, hairy or glandular; style 17.4-18 mm long, hairy or glandular towards the base, not bearded, terete. Fruit dehiscent (a pod or follicle), 46-50 mm long, 6-7 mm wide, stipitate, not constricted between the seeds, round in cross-section, hairy, with simple hairs, not beaked. Flowers in May.