The plant turns black in drying. As in the case of other
papilionaceous blossoms, bees are the visitors best adapted to
fertilize the flowers. When we see the little, sleepy,
dusky-winged butterfly (Thanaos brizo) around the plant we may
know she is there only to lay eggs, that the larvae and
caterpillars may find their favorite food at hand on waking into
life.
RATTLE-BOX
(Crotalaria sagittalis) Pea family
Flowers - Yellow, 1/2 in. long or less, usually only 2 or 3 on a
long peduncle. Calyx 5-toothed, slightly 2-lipped; corolla
papilionaceous. Stem: 3 to 10 in. high, weak, hairy. Leaves:
Alternate, simple, oval to lance-shaped; stipules arrow-shaped
above and running along stem. Fruit: An inflated oblong pod 1 in,
long, blackish, seedy.
Preferred Habitat - Dry, sandy, open situations.
Flowering Season - June-September.
Distribution - New England and Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.
These insignificant little yellow flowers attract scant notice
from human observers accustomed to associate their generic name
with some particularly beautiful relatives from the West Indies
grown in hothouses here.
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