rattlebox
Sesbania drummondii
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Form & Habitat
rattlebox form and habitat rattlebox form and habitat rattlebox form and habitat rattlebox form and habitat
Leaves
rattlebox leaves
Twigs
rattlebox twigs rattlebox twigs
Bark
rattlebox bark rattlebox bark
Flowers
rattlebox flowers rattlebox flowers
Fruit
rattlebox fruit (immature) rattlebox fruit (immature) rattlebox fruit (mature)
  • FAMILY: FABACEAE
  • ALTERNATE COMMON NAME:
  • LEAVES: alternate, deciduous, pinnately compound; 12-24 leaflets, as many as 60 occasionally; leaflets oblong, about 1”
  • FLOWER: drooping clusters of pale yellow, pea-like flowers
  • FRUIT: legume, 4-angled, winged, 4” long; peas rattle inside; tardily dehiscent; seed poisonous
  • TWIGS: often die back in hard winters
  • BARK:
  • FORM: small shrub, to 8 feet
  • HABITAT: margins of fresh water marsh, river banks, levees in salt marshes
  • WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Wetland (FACW): Usually occurs in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
  • RANGE: Gulf coastal plain
  • USES: limited use
    • Best Recognition Features:
    1. pinnately compound leaves with many leaflets
    2. drooping clusters of pale yellow flowers
    3. legume, 4-angled, rattles
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    School of Renewable Natural Reources    		 Louisiana Plant Identification and Interactive Virtual Tours
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