Crotalaria pallida

Species category

Weed

Common name

smooth rattlebox, pikakan, salts rattlebox, smooth crotalaria, smooth rattlepod, striped crotalaria,

Diagnostic characters

Planting unit

True seedTrue seed:
A mature fertilized ovule consisting of an embryo, with or without and external food reserve (e.g., endosperm) enclosed by the testa.

Shape

OvalOval:
Broadly elliptic.
with a divergent radicleRadicle:
The rudimentary root of the embryo, developing into the primary root after emergence from the seed coat.

Size

  • Length 3–3.5 mm
  • Width 2.8–3 mm
  • Thickness 1–1.3 mm

Color

Brown with concentric streaks of dark olive-brown

Texture

Smooth to smooth-glossy

Other structures

The hilumHilum:
The scar on the seed coat at the place of its detachment from the seed stalk (funiculus).
is deeply set into the seed margin but is not covered with the radicleRadicle:
The rudimentary root of the embryo, developing into the primary root after emergence from the seed coat.
lobe.

Identification notes

The radicleRadicle:
The rudimentary root of the embryo, developing into the primary root after emergence from the seed coat.
lobe is large and divergent but not hooked. The tip of the radicleRadicle:
The rudimentary root of the embryo, developing into the primary root after emergence from the seed coat.
is thick and curves towards the cotyledonary lobe.

Noxious weed seed categories

State Noxious Weed: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina

AOSA examination list

Not included

Nomenclature

Family

Fabaceae

Valid name

Crotalaria pallida Aiton

Synonyms

Crotalaria brownei Bertero ex DC.

 Crotalaria pallida.  Seeds with a large and divergent radicle lobe, that's not hooked. Photo courtesy of Colorado State University, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
Crotalaria pallida. Seeds with a large and divergent radicle lobe, that's not hooked. Photo courtesy of Colorado State University, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.