Cascabeles

Appearance

Crotalaria can be annuals, perennials or evergreen shrubs, with simple or palmate leaves and racemes or pea-like flowers followed by conspicuous inflated seed-pods

Naming

Vernacular: Cacabel, Cascabeles, Cascabelito, Cascabelitos, Guachecitos
Synonym: Crotalaria nitidula Mart. ex Schrank

Distribution

Biogeografic region: Amazonia, Andean, Guiana Shield, Caribbean, Orinoquia, Pacific. Elevation range: 0–2700 m a.s.l. Native to Colombia. Colombian departments: Amazonas, Antioquia, Bolívar, Boyacá, Caldas, Caquetá, Cauca, Chocó, Cundinamarca, Huila, La Guajira, Meta, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Risaralda, Santander, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupés.

Status

IUCN Red List Assessment (2021): LC. National Red List of Colombia (2021): Potential LC.

Habitat

Forest and woodland, savanna, shrubland, native grassland, wetlands (inland), artificial - terrestrial.

Uses

It is used to treat unspecified medicinal disorders and as a medicine.