SPECIES:  Cassia fasciculata

• Introductory
• Distribution and Occurrence
• Management Considerations
• Botanical and Ecological Characteristics
• Fire Ecology
• Fire Effects
• References

Introductory
SPECIES: Cassia fasciculata



AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Tesky, Julie L. 1992. Cassia fasciculata. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. 
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 
Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). 
Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ [].




ABBREVIATION : 
CASFAS

SYNONYMS : 
   Cassia chamaecrista L.
   Chamaecrista fasciculata (Michx.) Greene


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   CAFA
   CAFAB
   CAFAP
   CAFAR2


COMMON NAMES : 
   showy partridgepea
   prairie partridgepea
   partridge pea
   prairie senna
   large-flowered sensitive-pea
   dwarf cassia
   partridgepea senna
   locust weed
   golden cassia


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name for showy partridgepea is Cassia
fasciculata Michx. [4,13,18].  Recognized varieties and forms are as
follows [4,13,16,18,27]:

        C. fasciculata var. fasciculata
        C. fasciculata var. brachiata (Pollard) Pullen ex Isely
        C. fasciculata var. robusta Pollard
        C. fasciculata var. puberula (Greene) J. F. Macbr.
        C. fasciculata var. rostrata (Woot. & Standl.) B. L. Turner
        C. fasciculata var. depressa (Pollard) Macbr.
        C. fasciculata var. macrosperma Fern.
        C. fasciculata forma transmutata Fern.
        C. fasciculata forma mutata Fern.


LIFE FORM : 
Forb

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Cassia fasciculata



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Showy partridgepea is found throughout the central, south-central, and
eastern United States.  It also extends north from South Dakota to
southern Ontario, and east to New York [16,30].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES12  Longleaf - slash pine
   FRES13  Loblolly - shortleaf pine
   FRES14  Oak - pine
   FRES15  Oak - hickory
   FRES31  Shinnery
   FRES32  Texas savanna
   FRES38  Plains grasslands
   FRES39  Prairie
   FRES41  Wet grasslands


STATES : 
     AL  AK  AR  CT  DE  FL  GA  IL  IN  IA
     KS  KY  LA  ME  MD  MA  MI  MN  MS  MO
     NE  NH  NJ  NY  NC  OH  OK  PA  RI  SC
     SD  TN  TX  VT  VA  WV  WI  ON  PE  PQ



BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
   14  Great Plains
   16  Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K059  Trans-Pecos shrub savanna
   K062  Mesquite - live oak savanna
   K069  Bluestem - grama prairie
   K071  Shinnery
   K074  Bluestem prairie
   K075  Nebraska Sandhills prairie
   K076  Blackland prairie
   K077  Bluestem - sacahuista prairie
   K081  Oak savanna
   K082  Mosaic of K074 and K100
   K084  Cross Timbers
   K086  Juniper - oak savanna
   K087  Mesquite - oak savanna
   K089  Black belt
   K090  Live oak - sea oats
   K100  Oak - hickory forest
   K104  Appalachian oak forest
   K110  Northeastern oak - pine forest
   K111  Oak - hickory - pine forest
   K112  Southern mixed forest
   K115  Sand pine scrub


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   40  Post oak - blackjack oak
   45  Pitch pine
   52  White oak - black oak - northern red oak
   53  White oak
   64  Sassafras - persimmon
   69  Sand pine
   70  Longleaf pine
   71  Longleaf pine - scrub oak
   75  Shortleaf pine
   76  Shortleaf pine - oak
   78  Virginia pine - oak
   79  Virginia pine
   80  Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
   81  Loblolly pine
   82  Loblolly pine - hardwood
   83  Longleaf pine - slash pine
   84  Slash pine
   85  Slash pine - hardwood
   89  Live oak
   98  Pond pine
   110 Black oak


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
A published classification listing showy partridgepea as an understory
dominant is listed below:

Landscape ecosystem classification for South Carolina - Jones 1991

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Cassia fasciculata





IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Showy partridgepea seeds are a valuable food for northern bobwhite in
the Southeast [21,24,34].  Wild legumes, including showy partridgepea,
were found to be the most important fall and winter foods of northern
bobwhite in the Alabama Piedmont forests of slash pine (Pinus elliotii),
loblolly pine (P. taeda), and shortleaf pine (P. echinata) [34].  Seeds
of this legume are also eaten by the greater and lesser prairie-chicken,
ring-necked pheasant, mallard, brown thrasher, cotton rat, and field
mouse [15,29].  The seeds have been found in the food caches of Lousiana
pocket gopher [15].

A cathartic substance is present in the leaves and seeds of showy
partridgepea.  The substance is effective either in fresh plant material
or in dry hay [19,39].  Domestic livestock will eat showy partridgepea
leaves.  However, if large quantities are consumed, the animal may be
stressed and die.  Deer can eat it without being poisoned [5,39].


PALATABILITY : 
Showy partridgepea leaves and seeds are presumably palatable to some
wildlife species and livestock.


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Showy partridgepea seeds are high in phosphorus content and protein
value, and low in crude fiber and lignin.  Digestibility of legumes is
generally high [31].


COVER VALUE : 
Showy partridgepea often grows in dense stands, producing litter and
plant stalks that furnish cover for upland gamebirds, small mammals,
small nongame birds, and waterfowl [15,39].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Showy partridgepea is considered an excellent species for planting on
disturbed areas for erosion control and improving soil fertility.  It
establishes rapidly, fixes nitrogen, reseeds, and slowly decreases as
other species in the seeding mix begin to dominate the site [8,33].  In
one study, showy partridgepea had a nitrogen-fixing potential of 25.9 to
87.0 micro-moles of acetylene daily per plant.  It had the fastest
growth rate and the greatest nitrogen-fixing potential of the five
leguminous species studied.  Nitrogen fixation was greatest during the
flowering stage [6].

Seeds of showy partridgepea are readily available from commercial seed
sources [39].  It has been seeded on soil-lignite overburden, and in the
post oak (Quercus stellata) savannah of Texas, where it grew rapidly and
had the greatest aerial cover and aboveground biomass of all seeded
forbs during the first growing season.  It slowly gave way to developing
perennials over a period of 3 to 4 years [33].  To prevent weed
establishment and control soil erosion along county roadsides in Iowa,
showy partridgepea is often included in the seed mix with other forbs
and grasses [11].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Showy partridgepea is commonly grown as an ornamental [39].  In Georgia
and Florida it is considered an important honey plant, often occurring
where few other honey plants are found.  Nectar is not available in the
flowers of showy partridgepea but is supplied by the petiolar glands
[15,39].


OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Although showy partridgepea foliage is nutritious, it can be poisonous
and should be considered potentially dangerous to cattle (see Importance
to Livestock and Wildlife) [16].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Cassia fasciculata



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Showy partridgepea is a native annual legume [15,16,30,39].  It ranges
in height from 0.6 inch to 3 feet (0.15-0.91 m) but usually grows to 2
feet (0.61 m) [16,39].  The stems are erect or ascending, branching
freely from the base.  The leaves are 1.18 to 3.34 inches (3-11 cm)
long.  Showy partridgepea has a taproot.  Secondary roots are well
developed, forming a fibrous root system [6].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Therophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Flowers and Fruit:  Showy partridgepea flowers are cross-pollinated by
bees, flies, and ants [4].  The fruit is a legume containing 9 to 15
seeds [39].  Seeds are ingested and dispersed in droppings of birds and
small mammals [15,16,39].

Seed germination:  Germination is improved by scarification and
stratification [25,39].  Boiling showy partridgepea seeds for 15 to 60
seconds softens the seed coat and increases germination.  Nicking the
seed with a razor blade will also increase germination [25].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Showy partridgepea is common on disturbed areas throughout its range.
It often forms extensive colonies along firelines, roadside ditches, and
old fields [16,39].  It grows on prairies, bluffs, riverbanks and
riverbottoms, as well as upland woods of the Great Plains [39].  Showy
partridgepea is common on sandy flatwoods of xerophytic deciduous and
coniferous forests in the uplands of the lower Gulf Coastal Plain [26].

Soils:  Showy partridgepea is most common on sandy to sandy loam soils
[30,39].  It grows best in full sunlight and has low water requirements
[30].  The lower pH limit of showy partridgepea is 5.0 [41].

Associate species:  Showy partridgepea is often found associated with
the following species:  purpletop (Tridens flavus), wild-honeysuckle
(Gaura filiformis), Canadian horseweed (Conyza canadensis), threeawn
(Aristida desmantha), rough bottonweed (Diodia teres), broomsedge
(Andropogon virginicus), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), sumac (Rhus
spp.), blackberry (Rubus spp.), panicgrass (Panicum spp.), indiangrass
(Sorghastrum nutans), sensitive partridgepea (Cassia mictitans),
lespedeza (Lespedeza spp.), and ragweed (Amborsia spp.) [3,32].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Showy partridgepea most commonly occurs as a pioneer or colonizer of
disturbed areas.  It also occupies but is less abundant in mid- to
late-seral stages of grassland and forest succession [6,11,38].  Showy
partridgepea was most abundant in the initial community following
harvest of all but a few scattered oaks (Quercus spp.) in a east Texas
upland forest.  It was found to be considerably less abundant in
adjacent uncut wooded areas [38].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Showy partridgepea generally flowers from June through October
[6,22,30,39].  In years of normal rainfall, the bright yellow flowers
appear continously through most of the growing season [16].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Cassia fasciculata



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Showy partridgepea is favored by frequent fire.  Both on-site,
fire-scarified seeds and off-site seeds are an important source for
colonizing burned areas [1,35,36,37].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
   Secondary colonizer - off-site seed

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Cassia fasciculata



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Fire will kill showy partridgepea [35,37].  High-severity fires may
consume seeds stored in the seed bank.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Showy partridgepea generally increases in abundance after fire and will
decrease in the absence of fire or other disturbance [1].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
Showy partridgepea greatly increased in frequency following two spring
fires in consecutive years at a southern Illinois barren.  However, it
showed a rapid decline in frequency following fire cessation.  Sampling
took place during the summer after each burn.  Following the spring fire
in 1970 showy partridgepea quadrat frequency was 64; however, by
postfire year 15, quadrat frequency had declined to 2 [1].


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Prescribed fire can greatly increase the quantity and availability of
showy partridgepea seed to northern bobwite and other wildlife species
[25].  If managing areas for the maintainence of showy partridgepea, the
season of burning is important.  If burned as early as January, the
fire-scarified seed may germinate prematurally, and the seedlings may be
killed by March frosts [35,36,37].  Burns should be conducted after the
danger of late frosts has passed and before growth has started [35].
Nitrogen is a main nutrient lost during fire.  Showy partridgepea can be
planted on burned sites to restore nitrogen to the soil [42].

REFERENCES
SPECIES: Cassia fasciculata



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