Sensitive Pea
Sensitive Pea
Chamaecrista nictitans
Plantae
UNCOMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Annual
Size
Small
Diet
Photosynthetic
Biome
Temperate grassland
Range
The Americas
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Seeds
Defense
Toxins
Status
Uncommon

About

This small legume grows in fields across the Americas. Its leaflets snap shut in less than a second when brushed by an insect.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Fabales
Family
Fabaceae
Genus
Chamaecrista
Species
Chamaecrista nictitans