Don't know the actual name either, and yes it does use a partial seam for construction, but I think most could be put on in sets of 2 instead of 1 like a log cabin.
Last year I made a traditional Flying Square top when I discovered about 700 Y2K squares in a bag in my scraps. Similar in concept, except the "dark" is made up of pieced squares and only one round. I don't know if it was just because I was using my fancy new machine with the thread cutter and all that, but I was laughing at myself on why was I ever concerned about partial seams? It only "seems" hard, really nothing to fear.