United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 Texas Go to Accessibility Information
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Partridge Pea

Scientific Name: Chamaecrista fasciculata (Michaux) Greene
Syn. Cassia fasciculata
Common Name: Partridge Pea, Prairie Senna

Morphological Characteristics:

Habit- native annual legume with erect to spreading stems 20-90 cm long; flowers June to December; reproduces by seed
Leaves- pinnate with 12-14 leaflet; alternate; pubescent
Flowers – solitary or paired; petals 8-20 mm. long; yellow
Fruit- a flattened bean, dark brown to black when mature

Habitat and Range: common on sandy soils in prairies, openings, wasteplaces, and coastal dunes throughout most of Texas.

Conservation Use:

Why collect this plant? Texas Plant Materials Centers have identified this plant as having potential benefits to the following conservation practice standards: 645 Upland Wildlife Habitat Management and 550 Range Planting. Your assistance in collecting this plant helps support the NRCS conservation practice standards which are employed daily to conserve the natural resources of Texas!

Centers Requesting Seed:

E. Kika de la Garza PMC

How to Collect Seed

  1. Identify native plant stands in your area. You can go to the following websites for helpful photos http://plants.usda.gov or http://www.noble.org/imagegallery/index.html or www.wildflower.org
  2. Determine if seed is mature. Mature seed is typically dry and will easily separate from the seed head.
  3. Hand strip mature seed by grasping the bottom of the seed head then gently pulling away from the base of the plant. Deposit seed in a brown paper sack. Collect seed from a minimum of 30 to 50 plants.
  4. Label each collection as it is made so collections do not get mixed up. Information required includes: Collector’s name, number of plants collected, location (parish, city, highway, GPS coordinates), site description (soil type, slope, plants growing in association).
  5. Complete NRCS-ECS-580; Plant Collection Information Form and mail with collected seeds to the

NRCS Plant Materials Center requesting the species.

E. Kika de la Garza Plant Materials Center
3409 N FM 1355
Kingsville, TX 78363

Helpful Tips

Pods split open and release the seeds soon after the seeds mature. Look for superior plants that display differences in color, height, or forage abundance and record observations. Differences in growing site or location should be made into separate collections if they are separated by more than 1 mile between sites.

Other Photos:

Partridge Pea

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NRCS Species for 2008 Plant Collections - Partridge Pea (PDF; 1. 41 MB)