Chamaecrista nictitans |
Chamaecrista nictitans var. aspera |
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partridge pea, sensitive partridge or wild sensitive pea, sensitive partridge pea, wild sensitive-pea |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, rarely over-wintering, to 0.8(–1)[–1.2] m. Stems erect, incurved ascending. | Herbs to 0.8(–1) m. Stems pubescent, hairs yellow or orange reddish, 1–2.5 mm. | ||||||||
Leaves | (1.5–)2–8(–9)[15–21] cm; petiole (1.5–)2–7 mm; extrafloral nectary 1(or 2), near mid petiole, stipitate; leaflets (6–)8–28(–32)[–40] pairs, blades usually straight, sometimes falcate, linear, narrowly oblong, or oblong-elliptic, (3–)4–26 × 1–3 mm. |
(1.5–)2–7.5(–9) cm; stipules persistent; petiole (1.5–)2–7 mm, pubescent, hairs yellow or orange reddish, 1–2.5 mm; leaflets (12–)16–28(–32) pairs, blades 4–14 × 1–2.3 mm, margins glabrous or hairs to 0.4 mm. |
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Racemes | 1(or 2)-flowered, axillary. |
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Pedicels | 0.5–4[–16] mm; bracteoles mid pedicel. |
1–2.5 mm. |
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Flowers | calyx greenish, sepal venation reticulate; corolla yellow, sometimes fading pinkish, petals to 3.5–8(–9)[–16] mm; stamens [2–]4–8[or 9]; anthers yellow-orange or red, to (1.4–)1.6–3[–9.5] mm, different sizes; ovary usually hairy throughout, rarely glabrate. |
petals to 5–8(–9) mm; stamens 5–8, staminodia 0–2 (or 3); anthers to 1.6–2.8 mm; ovary slightly hairy throughout; ovules 5–10. |
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Legumes | straight, linear-oblong, [14–](15–)18–48(–56)[–78] × [2.4–]2.5–5.5(–5.8) mm. |
(15–)18–32(–36) × (3.5–)4–5.5 mm. |
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Seeds | [1.9–](2.2–)2.4–3.4[–3.7] mm. |
(2.2–)2.4–3.3 mm. |
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Chamaecrista nictitans |
Chamaecrista nictitans var. aspera |
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Phenology | Flowering mid summer–mid winter. | |||||||||
Habitat | Sandy pinelands, beaches, dunes, limestone or coral detritus, old fields, along roadsides, ditches, and railways. | |||||||||
Elevation | 0–50 m. (0–200 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
United States; Mexico; Central America; West Indies; South America (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru)
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FL; GA; SC; West Indies (Bahamas, Cuba, Grand Cayman, Jamaica); Central America (Honduras) |
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Discussion | Varieties 13 (3 in the flora). Chamaecrista nictitans is distinguished from the closely similar C. fasciculata (and C. deeringiana) by its globose-ovoid floral buds, which are ovoid-acuminate in the latter two species. All three varieties in the flora area belong to subsp. nictitans and are characterized by two to nine fertile stamens, while all other varieties have ten fertile stamens (they belong to the other subspecies): subsp. brachypoda (Bentham) H. S. Irwin & Barneby, subsp. disadena (Steudel) H. S. Irwin & Barneby, and subsp. patellaria (Colladon) H. S. Irwin & Barneby (H. S. Irwin and R. C. Barneby 1982). The key to varieties in the flora is adapted from Irwin and Barneby. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Variety aspera is widespread in Florida, and ranges north along the coastal plain to scattered populations in Georgia and South Carolina. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (excluding Mimosoid clade) > Chamaecrista | Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (excluding Mimosoid clade) > Chamaecrista > Chamaecrista nictitans | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | Cassia nictitans | Cassia aspera, C. nictitans var. aspera | ||||||||
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Moench: Methodus, 272. (1794) | (Muhlenberg ex Elliott) Torrey & A. Gray ex H. S. Irwin & Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 35: 838. (1982) | ||||||||
Web links |