What is "crotalaria juncea"

Sunn \Sunn\, n. [Hind. san, fr. Skr. [,c]ana.] (Bot.) An East Indian leguminous plant ( Crotalaria juncea) and its fiber, which is also called sunn hemp. [Written also sun.]

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.

Hemp \Hemp\ (h[e^]mp), n. [OE. hemp, AS. henep, h[ae]nep; akin to D. hennep, OHG. hanaf, G. hanf, Icel. hampr, Dan. hamp, Sw. hampa, L. cannabis, cannabum, Gr. ka`nnabis, ka`nnabos; cf. Russ. konoplia, Skr. [,c]a[.n]a; all prob. borrowed from some other language at an early time. Cf. Cannabine, Canvas.]

1. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Cannabis ( Cannabis sativa), the fibrous skin or bark of which is used for making cloth and cordage. The name is also applied to various other plants yielding fiber.

2. The fiber of the skin or rind of the plant, prepared for spinning. The name has also been extended to various fibers resembling the true hemp.

   African hemp, Bowstring hemp. See under African, and Bowstring.

   Bastard hemp, the Asiatic herb Datisca cannabina.

   Canada hemp, a species of dogbane ( Apocynum cannabinum), the fiber of which was used by the Indians.

   Hemp agrimony, a coarse, composite herb of Europe ( Eupatorium cannabinum), much like the American boneset.

   Hemp nettle, a plant of the genus Galeopsis ( Galeopsis Tetrahit), belonging to the Mint family.

   Indian hemp. See under Indian, a.

   Manila hemp, the fiber of Musa textilis.

   Sisal hemp, the fiber of Agave sisalana, of Mexico and Yucatan.

   Sunn hemp, a fiber obtained from a leguminous plant ( Crotalaria juncea).

   Water hemp, an annual American weed ( Acnida cannabina), related to the amaranth.

Crotalaria juncea, known as brown hemp, Indian hemp, Madras hemp, or sunn hemp, is a tropical Asian plant of the legume family ( Fabaceae). It is generally considered to have originated in India.

It is now widely grown throughout the tropics and subtropics as a source of green manure, fodder and lignified fiber obtained from its stem. Sunn hemp is also being looked at as a possible bio-fuel. It can be an invasive weed and has been listed as a noxious weed in some jurisdictions.

It bears yellow flowers and elongate, alternate leaves.