About Crotalaria pallida Aiton
Crotalaria pallida Aiton is an annual or short-lived perennial herbaceous shrub that reaches approximately 1.5 meters in height. Its stout stem is hairy and marked with longitudinal grooves. It bears trifoliate leaves, with a petiole measuring 2 to 8.5 centimeters long. The leaflets are 3 to 13 centimeters long by 2 to 5 centimeters wide, shaped elliptical to obovate. Its flowers are yellow, often marked with reddish-brown veins, and grow on racemes 15 to 40 centimeters long; each raceme holds 20 to 30 individual flowers. The fruits measure 3 to 5 centimeters long by 0.6 to 0.8 centimeters wide, and contain 30 to 40 seeds. The seeds are heart-shaped, 3 by 2 millimeters in size, shiny, and mottled with ochre and dark grey-green or brown. Crotalaria pallida occurs naturally in Indonesia, Sudan, the United States (Florida and Puerto Rico), Brazil, India, and Bangladesh. This species is cultivated as a ground cover and green manure crop, most commonly grown in the inter-rows of rubber trees and coconut palms. In Cambodia, its flowers are eaten as a vegetable, while its seeds are roasted and ground to make a coffee-like beverage. In Vietnam, the roots are sometimes chewed alongside betel nuts. In traditional medicine, the whole plant is used to treat urinary problems and fever. A poultice made from the roots is applied to swollen joints, and leaf extract is taken to expel intestinal worms. Crotalaria mucronata Desv has been reported to be widely used as a green manure crop in the southern United States under the name “giant striata”.
