Chamaecrista fasciculata
Family: Fabaceae
Plant Description: Annual with erect to spreading reddish stems 20-90 cm long,. Leaves pinnate, alternate, the leaflets 5-15 mm long. Flowers mostly solitary or paired. Petals 8-20 mm long, yellow, four of them with a dark basal spot. Fruit a legume brown or reddish, slightly curved
Plant Trivia:
Field Identification:
Occurrence: Common to sandy soils in prairies, openings, waste places, and dunes along the coast.
Bloom Period: June-December
Plant Use: Host plant for Cloudless Sulphur and Lettle Yellow butterflies.
Key to the species of Chamaecrista:
- Stems woody………………………………………………………………………………C. greggii
Stems not woody………………………………………………………………………………………2
2. Peduncles 2.5-4 cm long……………………………………………………….C. flexuosa
Peduncles 2 cm long or less……………………………………………………………………3
3. Stems with mixed long spreading hairs and short curved hairs . ………………………………………………………………………………………. C. calyciodes
Stems with short close-pressed hairs or nearly glabrous …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………C. fasciclata
stxflora 