Japanese name: サンヘンプ Scientific name:Crotalaria juncea
[Overview]
An annual often found around fields, growing into a shrub-like plant 1–3 m tall.
The whole plant is densely covered with short brown soft hairs.
The stem is erect and ridged.
Leaves are alternate, narrowly ovate to narrowly oblong-elliptical, 2.5–10.5 cm long and 0.6–3 cm wide, with entire margins.
There is a short leaf stalk.
The leaves look simple, but are palmately compound with a single leaflet.
A raceme 30 cm long emerges at the stem tip and bears 10–20 flowers.
The flowers are yellow and pea-shaped.
The calyx is densely covered with short soft hairs.
The fruit is a cylindrical legume 1.5–4 cm long, hanging downward and densely covered with short soft hairs.
When ripe, the fruit splits into two halves and releases 10–15 seeds.
[History]
It was introduced to Miyako Island as fodder, and has been confirmed as naturalized in warm regions such as Okinawa and Chiba.
[Uses]
It is used as green manure, fodder, and a fiber crop.
Rope and cloth are made from the stem fibers, and it is also a raw material for papermaking.
