Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista Fasciculata)

Local Name: Partridge Pea

Botanical Name: Chamaecrista fasciculata

Life Cycle: annual

Light: part sun - full sun

Moisture: mesic - dry

Morphology Notes: A fascinating plant from the pea family (Fabaceae). You might recognize the soft oblong compound leaf shape from its many legume cousins like the mimosa tree seen growing on roadsides of southern states. Partridge Pea kind of grows like a tiny 2 ft tree from a single stock branches layer evenly to make room for mellow yellow flowers with burgundy centers that pop below ALL SUMMER LONG. After those flowers are pollinated, they become seed pods that look like garden peas which eventually turn brown and charismatically explode upon touch.

Fruits and Seeds: Inconclusive edibility and medicinal qualities.

Habit and habitat: A fast growing annual with a fibrous root system. It doesn’t compete well and can be overshadowed by taller prairie plants, however because of those exploding seed pods, seedlings can often be found in disturbed areas of the garden.

NH Propagation technique: Saved seeds from Founder’s Plots

Companions: Little Bluestem, Butterfly Weed, Black-eyed Susans, Narrow-leaf Coneflower, Compass Plant, June Grass, Side-oats Grama.

Ecological associations: This plant gives back to nature in so many ways with its leaves being hosts for the butterflies and the seeds being food for over-wintering birds but the most interesting relationship is the one it has with solitary bees. Because the flowers are underneath the branches, it provides a safe place for bumble bees to suspend while they perform buzz pollination or sonication, a technique where the bee uses flight muscles to vibrate pollen out of the flower.  

Native Status: MN Native

Provenance: Unknown

Special Powers: The excitement never ends with Partridge Pea. On top of buzz pollination, exploding seed pods, and charming yellow flowers, it is also a nitrogen fixer for the soil. But its real super-power is nyctinasty, or its ability to open and close its leaflets to respond to the sun and circadian rhythms. As you observe this plant, you’ll notice its leaves open and close in response to the sun. Often in the hottest hours of the day the leaflets shutter to conserve water. Occasionally you will find a specimen that responds to touch, earning it the nickname “Sensitive Plant”.