Rattlebox or Rattlepod (Crotalaria spp.) are erect, herbaceous, variably hairy plants that may be annuals or perennials. The leaves are simple, alternate, lanceolate to obovate, with a finely haired undersurface. The flowers are yellow, with the leguminous calyx longer than the corolla. The fruit is a leguminous pod, inflated, hairless, becoming black with maturity, and containing 10 to 20 glossy, black, heart-shaped seeds, which often detach and rattle within the pod. Several species of Crotalaria have been associated with livestock poisoning, including C. sagittalis, C. spectabilis, and C. retusa.
Crotalaria species contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, the most notable of which is monocrotaline. It is present in greatest quantity in the seeds, lesser amounts being present in the leaves and stems. All livestock, including domestic fowl, are susceptible to poisoning. Although acute deaths will occur from eating large quantities of the Crotalaria seeds or plant, more often, as with other pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing plants, clinical signs typical of this toxin develop from a few days to up to 6 months later.
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