60 FABACEAE 
brown, 18-40 mm long, 8-12 mm wide, glabrous. 
Seeds c. 15, yellow to pale brown, cordiform, 3-4 mm 
long, c. 3 mm wide; caruncle minute. Flowering: 
Feb - Apr; fruiting: Mar - June. Fig. 18 
Widespread in tropical Australia, also in SE Asia 
and naturalised in tropical Africa. Uncommon in the 
DR. Usually in well drained riparian habitats. 
C. brevis Domin 
An erect or prostrate multistemmed subshrub to 
30 cm with annual stems and a perennial rootstock. 
All vegetative parts and calyx with long adpressed or 
occasionally patent white to ferruginous hairs. Stipules 
absent. Leaves simple; petioles c. 1 mm long; blades 
slightly discolorous, narrowly lanceolate, narrowly 
elliptic, linear, elliptic or rarely oblanceolate, 5-22 
mm long, 2-5.5 mm wide, L/W 2-6, base cuneate or 
rounded, apex acute to rounded, mucro minute. 
Inflorescence 1-4-flowered, to 40 mm long, flowers 
often obscured by foliage; bracts linear, 1.5-4 mm 
long. Pedicels 2-4 mm long, bracteoles similar to 
bracts. Calyx 4.5-9 mm long, tube c. 2 mm long. 
Corolla yellow; standard 4.5-8 mm long, glabrous on 
back; margins of keel fringed, apex twisted. Pod 
brown, 4-10 mm long, 3.5-7 mm wide, glabrous. Seeds 
10-18, pale yellow, brown or olivaceous, cordiform, 
1.7-2.5 mm long, 1.6-2.5 mm wide. Flowering: Dec 
- July; fruiting: Jan - July. Fig. 18 
Endemic to and widespread in tropical Australia. 
Uncommon but widespread in the DR on a variety of 
soils in open habitats. This taxon has previously been 
included in C. montana (as C. linifolia in Bentham, 
1864). There are occasional specimens with longer 
leaves which are intermediate between C. brevis and 
C. montana but the majority of specimens are readily 
distinguished. 
C. calycina Schrank 
An erect annual shrub to 1 m tall. Stems, outside 
of calyx and lower leaf surface villous to hirsute with 
hyaline to brown simple hairs to 5 mm long. Stipules 
+ persistent, subulate, 2-6 mm long. Leaves simple; 
petioles 1-3 mm long; blades discolorous, narrowly 
lanceolate, linear or narrowly elliptic, 35-165 mm 
long, 4-22 mm wide, L/W-6-20, base rounded, apex 
acute. Inflorescence axillary or terminal, 1-2- 
flowered, to 70 mm long, bracts narrowly lanceolate, 
10-20 mm long. Pedicels reflexed, 5-10 mm long; 
bracteoles similar to bracts. Calyx 17-35 mm long, 
expanded when in fruit; divided almost to base; 2- 
lipped, 3-5-lobed, lobes narrowly elliptic to elliptic, 
3-11 mm wide, exceeding corolla and fruit. Corolla 
pale yellow; standard 15-18 mm long, hairy toward 
Crotalaria 
apex; keel fringed with short white crisped hairs. Pod 
dark brown, 16-22 mm long, 8-9 mm wide, glabrous, 
waxy. Seeds pale yellow, triangular, 2.3-3 mm long, 
c. 2mm wide; caruncle minute. Flowering: Jan - June; 
fruiting: Feb - July. Fig. 19 
Widespread in the Old World tropics, from Africa 
to tropical Australia. Widespread but not common in 
the DR. In various habitats, most commonly on moist 
sites fringing low lying areas. Appears to be a fire 
weed (Jack Cusack pers. comm.). 
*C. goreensis Guill. & Perr. 
An erect annual shrub to 1.5 m tall. All vegetative 
parts and calyx (except leaf upper surface) with 
adpressed white to hyaline short simple hairs. Stipules 
persistent, foliaceous, lanceolate, falcate, held erect, 
5-20 mm long. Leaves digitately 3-foliolate; rachis 
12-60 mm long; leaflets slightly discolorous, linear, 
narrowly elliptic, oblanceolate or obovate, base 
cuneate or attenuate, apex obtuse to emarginate; basal 
leaflets 10-43 mm long, 5-15 mm wide, L/W 2.3-5; 
terminal leaflet 17-70 mm long, 5-25 mm wide, L/W 
(1.8)3.3-4.7. Inflorescence crowded, to 300 mm long; 
bracts caducous, c. 2 mm long. Pedicels 2-3 mm long; 
bracteoles caducous. Calyx 4-5 mm long, tube 1-2 
mm long; lobes narrowly triangular. Corolla yellow 
with red to brown veins, reddening with age, standard 
8-10 mm long, glabrous, margins of keel densely 
fringed with crisped white hairs. Pod pale to dark 
brown, 15-20 mm long, 5-8 mm wide, with short 
adpressed hyaline hairs. Seeds 9-14, orange-red, 
darkening with age, reniform, 3-3.7 mm long, 
2.8-3 mm wide. Flowering: Apr - May; fruiting: 
Apr - Sept. Fig. 19 
Native to tropical Africa and introduced as a green 
manure to Australia where it occurs in tropical and 
subtropical areas. Occurs sporadically in the DR on 
disturbed places and in riparian habitats. 
C. medicaginea Lam. 
C. trifoliastrum Willd., misapplied name 
An erect annual shrub to 0.7 m tall. All vegetative 
parts and calyx with adpressed hyaline to yellow short 
simple hairs. Stipules persistent, filiform, 1-3 mm 
long. Leaves digitately 3-foliolate; rachis 1.5-11 mm 
long; leaflets slightly discolorous, linear or cuneate, 
3-40 mm long, 1-6 mm wide, L/W 2-30, base cuneate, 
apex emarginate, or obtuse to truncate, basal leaflets 
slightly shorter. Inflorescence crowded, to 250 mm 
long or rarely short and axillary; bracts filiform, 1-3 
mm long. Pedicels 2-4 mm long; bracteoles similar 
to bracts. Calyx 2-5 mm long; lobes narrowly 
triangular, c. equal in length to tube. Corolla yellow; 
standard 4-9 mm long, with adpressed hairs on back; 
