Chamaecrista horizontalis A.R. Franck

Running Partridge Pea; Perennial Partridge Pea

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Running Partridge Pea is a native perennial in the Bean family (Fabaceae). It is native to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi. In Alabama it is found in the southern third of the state. It grows in sand hills, scrub oak woods, on old dunes, and in dry longleaf pine woods. Running Partridge Pea is a perennial from a woody horizontal rhizome. One to six herbaceous stems are produced from each root crown. Stems are erect, unbranched or sparsely branched, glabrous, and reddish or brown/green in color. The stems are from 8-15 inches in height. Leaves are alternate, even pinnately compound, and glabrous. There are 12-20 pairs of oblong leaflets per leaf. Near the base of the petiole there is an oval yellow and red gland. This is an extra-floral nectary. It produces nectar that attracts ants. The ants in turn help protect the plant from herbivores. Flowers are produced from the leaf axils. Flowers are solitary on a petiole that is about 1 inch long. Each flower has 5 narrow sepals and 5 yellow petals. There is a small red mark at the base of each petal. The fruit is a many seeded legume. Running Partridge Pea is listed as an S1 species in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi (typically 5 or fewer occurrences, very few remaining individuals, acres, or miles of stream, or some factor of its biology making it especially vulnerable in the state) and is listed as a G2 species globally (imperiled globally because of rarity (6 - 20 occurrences, or few remaining acres, or miles of stream) or very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range because of other factors). Running Partridge Pea is a larval host plant for the Cloudless Sulphur butterfly (Phoebis sennae). Two other Chamaecrista species occur in the same area. Both are annuals with a tap root. Common Sensitive Plant (Chamaecrista nictitans (Linnaeus) Moench) has much smaller flowers. Common Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata (Michaux) Greene) is a weedy annual that usually flowers later in th

Historically, the perennial Chamaecrista material in Alabama was treated as C. deeringiana. In 2021, Franck in Weakley et al split Chamaecrista horizontalis A.R. Franck from C. deeringiana. The result from the split was that all Alabama material was identifiable with C. horizontalis while C. deeringiana is restricted to extreme south Florida. All specimens cited below currently identified as C. derringiana should be re-evaluated but most are likely referable to C. horizontalis.--B.R. Keener

Native S1 (State Rank) G2 (Global Rank)

**