prairie wildflower
Partridge pea
Chamaecrista fasciculata
Also known as Sleepingplant, Sensitive Plant
1 of 2Native to much of the USA
Massachusetts to Florida Panhandle, west to Minnesota, eastern Nebraska, Oklahoma and extreme eastern Texas
- Light Full sun to part shade Sun tolerance
- Moisture Dry to moist Moisture preference
- Zones 4–10 Cold to heat range
- Bloom Jun–Oct Flowering time
- Height up to 3 ft to 0.9 m
- Life cycle Annual Annual to perennial
In the garden
A prairie wildflower for full sun to part shade and dry to moist soil. At up to 3 ft, it suits meadows and sunny borders. Hardy in USDA zones 4–10.
Growing conditions
Light
Full sun Partial shade Full shade
Moisture
Dry Moist Wet
Hardiness zones
Find your zone:
Pollinators & wildlife
- Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee
also Western Honey Bee, Eastern Carpenter Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee +48 more
American Bumble Bee, Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee, Pure Green Sweat bee, Two-spotted Longhorn Bee, Black-and-gold Bumble Bee, Half-black Bumble Bee, Orange-legged Furrow Bee, Southern Carpenter Bee, Agapostemon texanus, Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee, Flat-tailed Leafcutter Bee, Poey's Furrow Bee, Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Modest Masked Bee, Augochloropsis metallica, broad-handed leafcutter bee, Southern Plains Bumble Bee, Texas Leafcutter Bee, Common Longhorn Bee, Silky Striped Sweat Bee, Dilemma Orchid Bee, Bristle Sweat Bee, Rugose-chested Sweat Bee, Colletes simulans, Petulant Leafcutter Bee, Brown-winged Long-horned Bee, Shining Oil-digger Bee, Worthy Longhorn, Anthophora walshii, Megachile brevis, Experienced Sweat Bee, Nelumbo Masked Bee, Protandrena cockerelli, Sphecodes confertus, Xenoglossa strenua, Eastern Cuckoo Sweat Bee, Bellflower Resin Bee, Bombus sp., Augochlora feronia, Lasioglossum tegulare, Augochlorella persimilis, Zephyr Sweat Bee, Svastra atripes, Augochloropsis sumptuosa, Lasioglossum miniatulum, Megachile pseudobrevis, Lasioglossum coreopsis - Butterflies Monarch
also Gulf Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Common Buckeye +9 more
Gray Hairstreak, American Lady, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Great Spangled Fritillary, Cloudless Sulphur, Horace's Duskywing, Red-banded Hairstreak, Ceraunus Blue, Little Yellow - Flower flies Margined Calligrapher
also Thick-legged Hover Fly, Eurasian Drone Fly, Virginia Giant Hover Fly +5 more
Common Flower Fly, Iridescent Bromeliad Fly, Sphaerophoria cylindricus, Epistrophe emarginata, Maize Calligrapher - Also visited by
- Beetles:
Banded Longhorn Beetle, Typocerus badius +3 more
Euderces picipes, Metacmaeops vittata, Chlorophorus glaucus - Wasps:
Eastern Yellowjacket, Metric Paper Wasp +1 more
Southern Paper Wasp - Moths: Boneset Borer Moth, Coffee-loving and Southern Purple Mint Moths
- Beetles:
Butterflies that use this plant
Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.
- Cloudless sulphurhost & nectar
- Little yellowhost & nectar
- Sleepy orangecaterpillar host
- American ladynectar
- Banded hairstreaknectar
- Common buckeyenectar
- Eastern tailed-bluenectar
- Gray hairstreaknectar
- Great spangled fritillarynectar
- Gulf fritillarynectar
- Monarch butterflynectar
- Pearl crescentnectar
- Red-banded hairstreaknectar
Full plant details
Where it grows
- Habitat
- PrairieThe wild plant community it grows in.
- Native range
- Much of the USAUnited States (34): AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WI, WV. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
- Native distribution
- Massachusetts to Florida Panhandle, west to Minnesota, eastern Nebraska, Oklahoma and extreme eastern TexasThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.
Growing conditions
- Light
- Full sun to part shadeHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
- Moisture
- Dry to moistThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
- Hardiness zones
- USDA 4–10 · Canadian 5–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
- Soil
- Dry, deep, sandy, well-drained soils. Clay, Clay Loam, Medium Loam, Sandy Loam, Sandy, Acid-based, CalcareousThe soils it grows in naturally.
- Soil texture
- Light to heavy (sandy to clay)The soil grade it prefers, from sand to clay.
- Soil pH
- 6.5–7.5The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
- Soil quality
- MediumHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
- Water use
- MediumHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
- Salinity tolerance
- NoneHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
Growth & form
- Height
- up to 3 ft (to 0.9 m)Typical mature height.
- Life cycle
- AnnualWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
- Growth rate
- RapidA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
- Shape
- ErectIts overall silhouette.
- Root depth
- 14+ in (36+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.
Flowers, foliage & fruit
- Type
- WildflowerWhat kind of plant it is.
- Bloom
- Jun–OctWhen it flowers.
- Flower color
- YellowThe bloom color, or colors.
- Toxicity
- None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.
Propagation & seed
- Cold stratification
- Not requiredWhether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
- Propagation
- SeedHow to start new plants.
- Seed
- ~0.1 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
- Seed spread rate
- RapidHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
- Seedling vigor
- HighHow strongly young seedlings establish.
- Vegetative spread
- NoneWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.