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Sensitive Pea (Chamaecrista nictitans)
Genus Chamaecrista Family Fabaceae Order Fabales Class Magnoliopsida Phylum Tracheophyta Kingdom Plantae Biodiversity

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Source: Wikipedia

Chamaecrista nictitans
Chamaecrista nictitans on Kahoolawe, Hawaii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Genus: Chamaecrista
Species:
C. nictitans
Binomial name
Chamaecrista nictitans
Synonyms

Cassia nictitans L. Chamaecrista procumbens

Chamaecrista nictitans, the sensitive cassia,[2] sensitive partridge pea,[3] small partridge pea[4] or wild sensitive plant,[4] is a herbaceous species of legume widely distributed through the temperate and tropical Americas.[5] It is an annual plant capable of rapid plant movement—its leaflets fold together when touched.[6] However, a population at Haleakala National Park on the island of Maui, Hawaii, was reported as not being sensitive to touch.[7]

Description

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Chamaecrista nictitans is an annual, low-growing herb that grows from a taproot and often spreads to form extensive mats. Its stems range from glabrous to densely covered with incurved trichomes. The plant features sensitive leaves with a slender stalk and an umbrella-shaped gland measuring approximately 0.4 to 0.8 mm in diameter. Persistent striate are located just below the leaves. The flowers appear in the axils either singly or in groups of two to three, arranged in short racemes. Pedicels are 1 to 4 mm long. The sepals are lanceolate-acuminate, measuring 3 to 4 mm in length. The petals are bright yellow and unequal in size, with the lowermost and largest petal being 6 to 8 mm long—roughly twice the size of the other four. The plant bears five stamens of unequal length. Its fruit is a legume that opens elastically when mature, ranging from 2 to 4 cm long and 3 to 6 mm wide. The surface of the legume varies from smooth to densely hairy, and in rare cases, it may appear shaggy.[8]

C. nictitans is similar in appearance to Chamaecrista fasciculata except that the leaves are generally smaller,[4] it is less robust, and the flowers are smaller and inconspicuous.[9]

Distribution and habitat

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C. nictitans is widely distributed throughout the temperate and tropical Americas.[5] It has also been introduced to Hawaii and subtropics and tropics in Asia.[10][11]

It can grow in a variety of natural and disturbed communities due to its high tolerance to a range of growing conditions.[12]

Uses

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Historically, the Cherokee tribe used C. nictitans along with Senna marilandica to treat spasm in infants.[13] It also was used as a cathartic and a vermifuge.[14]

Chamaecrista nictitans is undesirable as a forage or hay but can be used for both in subtropical areas.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Contu, S. (2012). "Chamaecrista nictitans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T19893070A20040380. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T19893070A20040380.en. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  2. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. ^ NRCS. "Chamaecrista nictitans". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Miller, James Howard; Miller, Karl V. (2005). Forest plants of the Southeast and their wildlife uses. University of Georgia Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-300-12103-2.
  5. ^ a b Gargiullo, Margaret B.; Magnuson, Barbara L.; Larry D., Kimball (2008). A field guide to plants of Costa Rica. Oxford University Press. p. 345. ISBN 978-0-19-518824-0.
  6. ^ "NPIN: Chamaecrista nictitans (Partridge-Pea)". Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  7. ^ Medeiros, A.C.; Loope, L.L.; Chimera, C.G. (1998). Technical Report 120: Flowering Plants and Gymnosperms of Haleakala National Park. University of Hawaii at Manoa. p. 94.
  8. ^ Radford, Albert E., Harry E. Ahles, and C. Ritchie Bell. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. 1964, 1968. The University of North Carolina Press. 577-8. Print.
  9. ^ "Vascular Plants of North Carolina". auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  10. ^ USDA, NRCS. (2016). The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 5 April 2019). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
  11. ^ Cook, B.G., B.C. Pengelly, S.D. Brown, J.L. Donnelly, D.A. Eagles, M.A. Franco, J. Hanson, B.F. Mullen, I.J. Partridge, M. Peters, and R. Schultze-Kraft. 2005. Tropical forages: an interactive selection tool. Chamaecrista nictitans. CSIRO, DPI&F(Qld), CIAT, and ILRI, Brisbane, Australia. http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Chamaecrista_nictitans.htm (accessed 03 Mar. 2015).
  12. ^ Cathey, S. E., L. R. Boring, et al. (2010). "Assessment of N2 fixation capability of native legumes from the longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosystem." Environmental and Experimental Botany 67: 444-450.
  13. ^ Sheahan, C.M. 2015. Plant guide for sensitive partridge pea (Chamaecrista nictitans). USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Cape May Plant Materials Center, Cape May, NJ.
  14. ^ Nickell, J. M. (1911). J.M.Nickell's botanical ready reference : especially designed for druggists and physicians : containing all of the botanical drugs known up to the present time, giving their medical properties, and all of their botanical, common, pharmacopoeal and German common (in German) names. Chicago, IL, Murray & Nickell MFG. Co.
  15. ^ "Sensitive Partridge Pea plant guide" (PDF). United States Department of Agriculture.
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Media related to Chamaecrista nictitans at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Chamaecrista nictitans at Wikispecies


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