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| Category: Shrub |
| Family: Fabaceae = Pea Family |
| Origin: Africa, East (Africa) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Yellow Green |
| Bloomtime: Summer/Fall |
| Height: 8-12 feet |
| Width: 8-12 feet |
| Exposure: Sun or Shade |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
| May be Poisonous (More Info): Yes |
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Crotalaria agatiflora (Canary Bird Bush) - An evergreen shrub characterized by flowers that look like a family of green canaries perching on a branch. With ample water and room this shrub can grow to 12 feet tall by an equal width but is more often seen much smaller and where grown without summer irrigation is often only 4 to 5 feet tall. It has gray-green trifoliate leaves with each of the elliptic leaflets 1 to 3 inches long. In spring until fall appear the terminal inflorescences, sometimes nearly two feet long, bearing 1 ½ to 2 inch long flowers with chartreuse colored flowers and gray-purple calyces that really do look birds attached to the stem by their beaks. Plant in full sun or part shade, water regularly to very little. Tips freeze at around 27° F but the woody parts are to 20-25 degrees F. Flowering diminishes in hot inland valleys in summer but resumes in fall. Its rangy open habit can be contained and neatened by pruning one or more times during the warmer months and this also encourages re-bloom. Canary Bird Bush is native to tropical eastern Africa from southern Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya. The name derives from the Latin 'Crotalus' (which originated from the Greek word 'krotalon' or ???ta??? which means "rattle" or "castanet" for the seed pods which rattle in the wind when dry. This root word is also used for genus name Crotalus for rattlesnakes. The specific epithet comes from the flowers resemblance to a plant once called Agati grandiflora, that is now Sesbania grandiflora. Besides Canary Bird Bush other common names include bird flower, Queensland birdflower (so called in Australia when it is not native) rattlebox or rattlepod. We have grown this interesting and attractive plant off and on since 1983. We have seen Crotalaria retusa, which is commonly called Rattleweed sometimes being sold in California incorrectly as Crotalaria agatiflora
This information about Crotalaria agatiflora displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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