What is "crotalaria"

Rattlebox \Rat"tle*box`\ (r[a^]t"t'l*b[o^]ks`), n.

1. A toy that makes a rattling sound; a rattle.

2. (Bot.)

   1. An American herb ( Crotalaria sagittalis), the seeds of which, when ripe, rattle in the inflated pod.

   2. Any species of Crotalaria, a genus of yellow-flowered herbs, with inflated, many-seeded pods.

Crotalaria \Crot`a*la"ri*a\ (kr?t`?-l?"r?-? or kr?`t?-l?"r?-A), n. [NL. See Crotalum.] (Bot.) A genus of leguminous plants; rattlebox.

Note: Crotalaria juncea furnishes the fiber called sunn or Bombay hemp.

n. (context botany English) Any of the genus ''Crotalaria'' of herbaceous plants and woody shrubs.

n. any of various plants of the genus Crotalaria having inflated pods within which the seeds rattle; used for pasture and green-manure crops [syn: rattlebox]

Crotalaria is a genus of herbaceous plants and woody shrubs in the Family Fabaceae (Subfamily Faboideae) commonly known as rattlepods. The Crotalaria genus includes about 500 species of herbs and shrubs. Africa is the continent with a majority of Crotalaria species (approximately 400 species). Crotalaria are mainly found in damp grassland, especially in floodplains, depressions and along edges of swamps and rivers, but also in deciduous bush land, roadsides and fields. Some species of Crotalaria are grown as ornamentals. The common name rattlepod or rattlebox is derived from the fact that the seeds become loose in the pod as they mature, and rattle when the pod is shaken. The name derives from the Ancient Greek , meaning " castanet", and is the same root as the name for the rattlesnakes ( Crotalus).

Crotalaria species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Endoclita sericeus, Etiella zinckenella and Utetheisa ornatrix. The toxic alkaloids produced by some members of this genus are known to be incorporated by Utetheisia larvae and used to secure their defense from predators.