Annual Partridge Pea

Plant Name: Annual Partridge Pea

Botanical Name: Chamaecrista fasciculata

Description (growth habits, light requirements & care): Medium sized annual herbaceous wildflower. Primarily recommended for wildflower and butterfly gardens, as well as restoration sites. Fast growing annual or short-lived perennial, typically dying off after first year, but reseeds and pops back up the following year. Normally grows with a soft, fuzzy appeal, typically up to 3 feet in height. Soft lemon-yellow flowers, that grow in clusters, adding a pop of color to your garden. Also a nitrogen fixer, by depositing nitrogen into the soil, amending your garden soils.

How you help by planting this: Besides providing food and cover for wildlife, this plant is also a Larval host plant for Ceraunus Blue (Hemiargus ceraunus), Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae), Little Yellow (Eurema lisa) and Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) butterflies. Helps these species by providing them with the food they need to feed their next generations. 

Flower and Fruit (color, characteristics, season): Yellow petals; yellow anthers. Showy flowers growing in clusters along the stems. Spring-summer. Flat seed pods (legume) which feed your garden visitors.

Pairs well with: Sun-loving drought tolerate plants. Muhlygrass, Leavenworth’s Tickseed, Blazing Star, Butterfly Milkweed, Black-eyed Susan, Asters and Goldenrods.