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Romfh, Peggy

Sesbania drummondii

Sesbania drummondii (Rydb.) Cory

Rattlebush, Rattlebox, Poisonbean

Fabaceae (Pea Family)

Synonym(s): Daubentonia drummondii

USDA Symbol: SEDR

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

The rattlebush is a rank-growing, woody plant 2-10 feet tall. It has many branches in the upper part, well separated, with few leaves, giving it a rather spare appearance. Bark smooth, green to light brown. Leaves are alternate, 4-8 inches long on a short stem. They are divided into 20-50 leaflets, 1/2-l 1/2 inches long and about 1/4 inch wide with no terminal leaflet. Flowers about 1/2 inch long, yellow, often streaked with red hang in clusters about 2 inches long, on a threadlike stem about the same length. Each flower has 5 petals, the top petal being longer than the others and standing erect. When the seeds mature they are loose in the pod and rattle when shaken, suggesting the name "rattlebush".

The species name of this plant is named for Thomas Drummond, (ca. 1790-1835), naturalist, born in Scotland, around 1790. In 1830 he made a trip to America to collect specimens from the western and southern United States. In March, 1833, he arrived at Velasco, Texas to begin his collecting work in that area. He spent twenty-one months working the area between Galveston Island and the Edwards Plateau, especially along the Brazos, Colorado, and Guadalupe rivers. His collections were the first made in Texas that were extensively distributed among the museums and scientific institutions of the world. He collected 750 species of plants and 150 specimens of birds. Drummond had hoped to make a complete botanical survey of Texas, but he died in Havana, Cuba, in 1835, while making a collecting tour of that island.

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