Chamaecrista nictitans (L.) Moench
Wild sensitive plant, wild sensitive-pea, sensitive partridge pea
Sensitive plants are so named because they have a very unusual property: they fold up when touched. Well usually. Sometimes they don’t, and sometimes they respond slowly. It is native throughout most of the Americas. It prefers rocky open woods, upland slopes, ridges, prairies, grasslands, and open thickets.
Plants: 1–3′ (30–91 cm) tall, often low to the ground, sometimes forming large mats.
Leaves: Even pinnate. Each leaf has 8-18 pairs of narrow leaflets about ⅝″ (1.7 cm) long. Leaves fold when touched, or at night.
Flowers: Yellow, 5-petaled, 1″ (2.5 cm) around, either separate or in clusters of 2-3. Petals are unequal in size and shape. There are 5-10 stamens. Flowers appear August through October.
Fruits: Shaped like pea pods, highly variable, ¾–1½″ (2–4 cm) long. When they dry, they turn brown and explode, scattering seeds.
Habitats: Rocky open woods, upland slopes, ridges, prairies, grasslands, and open thickets.
Online References:
7/23/2017 · Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Pennsylvania · ≈ 5 × 7″ (13 × 18 cm) 
7/23/2017 · Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Pennsylvania · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm) 
7/23/2017 · Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Pennsylvania · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm) 
9/23/2017 · Summit of Mt. Agamenticus, York, Maine · ≈ 3 × 2½″ (8.1 × 7 cm) 
9/23/2017 · Summit of Mt. Agamenticus, York, Maine · ≈ 4 × 2½″ (10 × 7 cm) 
9/23/2017 · Summit of Mt. Agamenticus, York, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.9 cm) 
7/23/2017 · Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Pennsylvania · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm) 
7/23/2017 · Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Pennsylvania · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm) 
7/23/2017 · Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Pennsylvania · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm) 
9/23/2017 · Summit of Mt. Agamenticus, York, Maine · ≈ 3 × 2½″ (7.4 × 7 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Fabales | Legumes (pea and bean families) |
| Family | Fabaceae | Legume family (peas and beans) |
| Genus | Chamaecrista | From Greek chamae, “low growth,” and crista, “crested.” |
| Species | nictitans | Banded or bundled nerve fibers, in reference to the sensitivity of the leaflets |
Chamaecrista nictitans description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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