Partridge Pea (Chamaechrista fasciculate)
Blooming from mid summer into fall this easily identified plant, Partridge Pea (Chamaechrista fasciculata), is a native plant found in the eastern two thirds of the United States from New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Nebraska eastward to the east coast. Considered endangered in its northeast range the species is classified as a weedy plant in its western range.
This plant grows in open areas and thrives in dry and seemingly barren soils. As with other pea/bean plants it is a nitrogen fixing plant and enriches the soil in which it grows.
The bright irregularly shaped yellow flowers found along the branches are around an inch in diameter. The plants are one half to two feet and taller (32 inches this specimen) sometimes sprawling. The leaves are compound with numerous leaflets that are around an inch long and one third inch across. The leaves are sensitive and slowly fold inward when touched.
In some taxonomic systems, the Partridge Pea is placed in a family Caesalpinia (Caesalpiniaceae)
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