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Crotalaria micans
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Family:
FABACEAE/LEGUMINOSAE (Subfam.: Papilionoideae)
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Citation: Crotalaria micans Link, Enum. Hort. Berol. 2: 228. 1823; M. Mohanan & Henry, Fl. Thiruvanthapuram 141. 1994; Ansari, Crotalaria India 216. 2008.
Crotalaria anagyroides HBK, Nov. Gen. Sp. Pl. 6: 404. 1824.
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Malayalam Name(s):
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
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Description:
Shrubs, up to 3 m high; branchlets angular, sericeous. Leaves alternate, 3-foliolate; leaflets 3-6 x 0.8-2.0 cm, oblong-oblanceolate, cuneate at base, obtuse, mucronate at apex, glabrous above, adpressed-pubescent beneath; petiolules 3-4 mm long; petioles up to 4.5 cm long, longitudinally grooved above; stipules subulate, ca 2 mm long, caduceus. Racemes terminal or axillary, elongated, up to 15 cm long; peduncles 3-4 cm long. Flowers numerous, distantly arranged, ca 2 x 2.5 cm; bracts linear, 6-7 mm long, caducous; bracteoles linear, 3-4 mm long, adpressed to calyx, caducous; pedicels ca 1 cm long. Calyx-tube 4.5-5.0 mm long, lobes 6-7 mm long, ovate, bilobed, divided to a little more than half of the length of calyx, sericeous. Petals yellow, twice as long as calyx; vexillum orbicular, ca 1.8 x 2 cm, retuse at apex, glabrous, claw ca 5 mm long; wing petals oblong, ca 2 x 0.5 cm, truncate at apex; keel petals ca 1.8 x 0.8 cm, falcate, beak untwisted. Staminal sheath ca 1 cm long; free filaments 0.5-1.0 cm long; longer anthers oblong, ca 2.5 mm long; shorter anthers ovoid, ca 0..8 mm long. Ovary ovate-oblong, shortly stalked, ca 1 cm long, densely pubescent; style ca 1.5 cm long, curved, apically pubescent on the innerside; ovules ca 15. Pods oblong-terete, 2.5-3.0 x 1.0-1.3 cm, pubescent transversely nerved, much exceeding the persistent calyx, shortly stalked; seeds 3-5, obliquely-cordiform, 4-5 mm long, light brown, finely papillate, with the narrow end strongly incurved.
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Habit:
Shrub
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Flowering & Fruiting:
April-May
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District(s):
Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki, Wayanad, Palakkad, Kottayam
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
Along roadsides in the high ranges
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Distribution:
Native of tropical America, now widely naturalised
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Yellow
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
Yes
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Boneccord
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