Rattlebox Crotalaria Crotalaria sagittalis L FAMILY

Rattlebox
Crotalaria
Crotalaria sagittalis L
FAMILY: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)

DISTRIBUTION:
Occurs on dry open soil, waste places, and dry forest clearings.

DESCRIPTION:
Crotalaria sagittalis is a small plant growing to less than half a meter tall, with spreading hairs; leaf stipules: decurrent on the stem; leaves: simple, entire, sessile, lanceolate flower on the stem to linear toward the top, 3-8 cm, to l.5 cm wide; inflorescence: 2-4 flowered racemes; flowers: yellow standard, 8 mm; stamens: 10, filaments fused; fruits: oblong, sessile pods, 2-3 cm. very inflated, when dry the seeds rattling in the pods; seeds: flat, kidney-shaped, brown beans, 2.5 mm long.

TOXIC PARTS:
The herbage and seeds are considered toxic. Monocrotaline is present in the entire plant.

TOXICITY:
Livestock show signs of stupor, labored breathing, weakness, emaciation, paralysis, and death. Postmortem: gross lesions: hemorrhag, petechiae, or large ecchymoses; organ congestion; abomasum, omasum, and gallbladder are edematous; cirrhosis of liver in prolonged cases; histological lesions: pulmonary changes, including emphysema, alternate with atelectasis and hemorrhage.

TOXIC PRINCIPLES:
The presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloid monocrotaline. The additional alkaloids, fulvine and cristpatine, have been isolated and identified as macrocyclic esters of retorsine, which is also a toxic factor in the composite genus Senecio (see Arctium).

TREATMENT:
Gastric lavage, emesis ; treat symptoms asw they appear, supportive therapy.; possibly treatment with crystalline methionine.