Common Partridge Pea
Chamaecrista fasciculata var. fasciculata
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in fields, disturbed areas, fencerows, and a wide range of other habitats. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 3 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- June to September
- Fruiting season
- July to November
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 58 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
19CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Cassia
- Phoebis sennaeCloudless Sulphur
- Abaeis nicippeSleepy Orange, Sleepy Yellow, Erratic Orange
- Amyelois transitellaNavel Orangeworm
- Ascalapha odorataBlack Witch
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Choristoneura obsoletanaObsolete Leafroller
- Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
- Epargyreus clarusSilver-Spotted Skipper
- Eumarozia malachitanaSculptured Moth
- Eurema dairaBarred Yellow, Barred Sulphur
Show all 19
- Gesta funeralisFunereal Duskywing
- Lesmone detrahensDetracted Owlet
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
- Pyrisitia lisaLittle Yellow, Little Sulphur, Lisa Yellow
- Selenisa sueroidesTailpipes, Pale-Edged Selenisa Moth
- Thysania zenobiaOwl Moth
- Uresiphita reversalisGenista Caterpillar, Genista Cbroom Moth
- Zale lunataLunate Zale
24BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Chamaecrista
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Chamaecrista
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Fruit begins
- July
- Fruit ends
- November
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “Up to about 3 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Annual” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T4T5 |
| LA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Louisiana occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

