Showy partridge pea

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Showy partridge pea

Showy partridge pea flowers

Showy partridge pea

Showy partridge pea habit

Showy partridge pea leaf

Showy partridge pea

Showy partridge pea

Showy partridge pea

Showy partridge pea

Showy partridge pea

Showy partridge pea flowers

Showy partridge pea pods

Morphology

Stem

Erect or ascending, usually branched, slender, short appressed-hairy.

Leaves

Alternate, stalked, 1-4 inches long, even-pinnately compound; leaflets 12-30, linear-oblong, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, less than 1/5 inch wide, glabrous; margins fringed with minute hairs; tips blunt or end in short, abrupt points; stipules persistent, to 2/5 inches long, tapering to points.

Inflorescence

Racemes, 2-7-flowered, in leaf axils

Flower

Showy; sepals 5, lanceolate; petals 5, unequal in size, bright yellow; bases of upper 4 petals with reddish spot; lower petal larger, to 3/4 inch long, curving, without red spot; stamens 10, unequal, yellow or purple.

Fruit

Pods, linear-oblong, flat, 1 to 2.75 inches long, less than .25 inch wide, brown; seeds 4-20, somewhat rectangular, flattened, small, dark.

Ecology

Habitat

Disturbed areas, prairies, open woods, waste ground and roadsides, in sandy or rocky soils.

Distribution

Throughout except northwest corner of Kansas.

Practical Information

Toxicity

Showy partridge pea can be mildly poisonous to livestock when consumed in large quantities, but deer seem unaffected.

Forage Value

Upland game birds and songbirds eat the seeds, and deer and cattle consume the foliage.

Additional Notes

Synonyms

Alternative scientific names that have been used for this plant.