PlantFiles: Partridge Pea, Sleeping Plant, Beach Sensitive Pea
Chamaecrista fasciculata

I beleive this plant is also known as fishbean and is toxic to livestock. It is highly invasive to pastures and sandy areas.

I planted a "low-growing wild flower and grass seed mix" from Ernst Conservation Seeds in Pa. not knowing much but wanting to see the plants grow. The partridge pea in mid summer has emerged (in a crowded field) as one of the strong growing and truely beautiful plants in the mix. Being new to Dave's Garden, I'm pleased to find so much information from various growers. Thanks to you folks.

I had one of these pop up in my flower bed. Since I didn't know if it was a tree, I thought that I had better move it. Someone else said that theirs died once transplanted and mine almost did also. I potted it and it completely flopped over and started to wilt. My pot is one of those that has a retainer for water at the base and I misted the plant with water a few times in the day. It came back up the next day and kept on growing. It did lose some "branches", but, you can't tell. It wasn't until it flowered that I knew that it wasn't an Acacia-type tree because of the pea-like yellow flowers. I was concerned that maybe I was fostering a weed, but, I'm glad that I have found that this is not the case.

Partridge Pea is a warm season annual legume which can grow from 1 to 4 feet tall. Flowers have 5 petals which are bright yellow. The lower petal is larger, as is typical with other blooms in the pea family. Found along roadsides and in open wooded areas in the Eastern U.S. from Massachusetts to Florida, west to New Mexico and north to South Dakota.

This is such a unique and beautiful plant, and I have been trying to figure out the name of it since I moved into my home 4 years ago (until now)! This plant grows wild, sporadically, and uncontrollably around my house, and seems to thrive in sunny and partly shady locations with poor soil... like around the house's concrete foundation or near the driveway base, or where even the weeds and stickers don't grow in my woodsy frontyard. Crazy plant! It would seem hardy.... however any time I try to transplant it, the thing dies within a day (no matter how much of the sandy surrounding soil I keep intact around the root). Now that I see how easy it may be to collect the seeds, I will try to grow them from seeds in the areas I think they will look best. Wish me luck!

Partridge Pea is a lovely annual that will self seed and bloom until frost.
The foliage is compound and very fine resembling a Mimosa. It folds up in the evening and also when touched.
The seeds must be collected when the pods are brown but before they burst open.
Many birds enjoy the seeds in the garden and in the wild.