''Chamaecrista nictitans'', the sensitive cassia,
sensitive partridge pea, small partridge pea
or wild sensitive plant,
is a herbaceous species of
legume
Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...
widely distributed through the temperate and tropical
Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
.
It is an annual plant capable of
rapid plant movement
Rapid plant movement encompasses movement in plant structures occurring over a very short period, usually under one second. For example, the Venus flytrap closes its trap in about 100 milliseconds. The traps of Utricularia are much faster, closi ...
—its leaflets fold together when touched.
However, a population at Haleakala National Park on the island of Maui, Hawaii, was reported as not being sensitive to touch.
It is similar to ''
Chamaecrista fasciculata
''Chamaecrista fasciculata'', the partridge pea, is a species of legume native to most of the eastern United States. It is an annual which grows to approximately tall. It has bright yellow flowers from early summer until first frost, with flow ...
'' except that the leaves are generally smaller,
it is less robust, and the flowers are smaller and inconspicuous.
''Chamaecrista nictitans'' is undesirable as a forage or hay but ''can'' be used for both in
subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
areas.
References
External links
nictitans
Flora of Northern America
Flora of Southern America
{{Caesalpinioideae-stub