Crotalaria retusa

Crotalaria retusa
Yellow Rattlebox, Devil Bean

An attractive annual shrub to about 1 m tall with pretty, bluish green, wedge-shaped foliage and upright flower stalks with bright yellow, pea-like flowers followed by black pods with small, rattling seeds inside. Originally native to southern Asia, it is used as a nitrogen-fixing green manure but most popular as an ornamental for the warm temperate and tropical garden. The leaves and flowers are edible.

germination comments by our visitors
For general germination instructions click here.

Also see plant cultivation comments below.

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plant cultivation comments by our visitors
Also see germination commnets above.

Plants from this species ...

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If you wish to read more on palm cultivation, we highly recommend Ornamental Palm Horticulture by Timothy K. Broschat and Alan W. Meerow, available in our bookshop.

Ratings and comments reflect individual experiences and the views of our visitors. They do not necessarily describe the most appropriate methods, nor are they necessarily valid for all seeds or plants of this species. Germination and plant cultivation success depends on many different factors; nevertheless, these experiences will hopefully aid you in your effort to get the best germination results from our seeds and the best growth results from your plants.

We recommend:

The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms
by Robert Lee Riffle, Paul Craft, Scott Zona

2nd edition
Completely revised and updated
Hardcover - 528 pages
11 x 8.5 inches

Our rating:

Suitable for: all

The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms is the definitive account of all palms that can be grown for ornamental and economic use. Palms are often underutilized as a result of their unfamiliarity—even to tropical gardeners. To help introduce these valuable plants to a new audience, the authors have exhaustively documented every genus in the palm family.
825 species are described in detail, including cold hardiness, water needs, height, and any special requirements. Generously illustrated with more than 900 photos, including photos of several palm species that have never before appeared in a general encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms is as valuable as an identification guide as it is a practical handbook. Interesting snippets of history, ethnobotany, and biology inform the text and make this a lively catalog of these remarkable plants.

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Other selected books are available in our Book Shop