| 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 F.Muell. | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Crotalaria dissitiflora Benth. | |
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.
Description
Crotalaria eremaea grows as a perennial herb or softwooded shrub up to 2m tall. 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.
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.
Crotalaria eremaea grows in sandy soils across most of the inland of Australia.
Taxonomy
Crotalaria eremaea was first described by Ferdinand von Mueller from a specimen collected by Augustus Charles Gregory near 'Cooper's River and its tributaries'.
Two subspecies are currently accepted:
References
- "Australian Plant Name Index". Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- ^ "Crotalaria eremaea". PlantNet. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- ^ "Fact sheet for Crotalaria eremaea". Electronic Flora of South Australia. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.