partridge pea

noun

1. a North American plant, Cassia fasciculata, of the legume family, having yellow flowers and feathery compound leaves that fold shut when touched.

Word History and Origins

Origin of partridge pea¹

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90; probably so called because its fruit provides food for partridges

Example Sentences

They planted butterfly milkweed, prairie blazing star, stiff goldenrod, sneezeweed, black-eyed Susan and partridge pea, all without tilling the land.

Read more on Washington Times

As construction approached, I said goodbye to what would be lost: sweeps of meadow beauty, partridge pea and blue-eyed grass.

Read more on New York Times

Bumblebees, buzzing about the blossoms, may be observed "milking" the anthers just as they do those of the partridge pea.

Read more on Project Gutenberg

The partridge pea, which has a more westerly range than the sensitive pea's, extends it southward even to Bolivia.

Read more on Project Gutenberg

The partridge pea bears from two to four showy flowers together, each measuring an inch or more across, on a slender pedicel from the axils.

Read more on Project Gutenberg