partridge pea

The leaves consist of 10 to 15 pairs of small, narrow leaflets that are somewhat delicate to the touch. Like other legumes, the plant displays nyctinasty, which is a circadian rhythmic nastic movement wherein the leaves open and close in response to day and night cycles. The showy yellow flowers, about 1 inch (25 mm) across, grow 2 to 4 together in clusters on the stem. Flowers normally bloom July-September. The fruit is a straight, narrow pod 1.5 to 2.5 inches (38 to 64 mm) long, which splits along 2 sutures as it dries; the pod sides spiral to expel the seeds some distance from the parent plant.

The partridge pea is found in the eastern United States, excluding Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, west to New Mexico, South Dakota, and Minnesota.

Like other legumes, the partridge pea is a nitrogen-fixing plant, with microorganisms helping to produce the nitrogen compounds necessary for the plant to survive. The microorganisms inhabit root nodules, which provide them with a safe habitat while giving the plant access to the nutrients. Chamaecrista fasciculata is insect pollinated and is recorded to have been visited in northern Florida by Augochloropsis metallica, Lasioglossum apopkense, Lasioglossum illinoense, Lasioglossum reticulatum, Lasioglossum weemsi/leviense, and Svastra atripes.

Historically, the Cherokee tribe used partridge pea as a medicinal remedy for spells of fainting and to prevent fatigue in ball players. The Seminole tribe used it to alleviate nausea and also utilized the plant as a bed for ripening persimmons. Partridge pea can be planted along roadways or streambanks to control erosion and improve soil fertility, as it establishes rapidly, fixes nitrogen, reseeds, and then decreases in frequency once other species establish.