Flora of North America species comparison

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Dalea formosa

feather-plume, indigobush
Habit Shrubs, relatively erect, often gnarled, glabrous or glabrate proximal to inflorescences.
Stems

1.5–9 dm, eglandular or sparsely glandular-tuberculate distally.
Inflorescences

spikes, loosely flowered, 2–9-flowered, not involucrate, 8 mm diam.;

axis usually visible, 0.2–0.8(–3.5) cm;

bracts early deciduous or ± persistent, brown, 2–6 mm, glandular.
Peduncles

0–1(–1.8) cm.
Stamens

10, 9–12.5 mm, filaments distinct to 2.4–4.5 mm, anthers 0.8–1.2 mm.
Corollas

bicolored, banner cream to pale yellow, reddish in age, epistemonous petals rose- or magenta-purple; papilionaceous;

banner (6.6–)7–8.8 mm, blade deltate-obcordate, (4–)4.3–5.5 × (3.4–)4–6.4 mm; epistemonous petals attached proximal to middle of stamen tube;

wings 5.2–7.4 × 2.4–3.7 mm;

keel connate valvately, blades (6–)6.3–7.6 × 3.2–4.5 mm.
Calyces

asymmetric, not recessed opposite banner, opening oblique, (7.5–)8.5–13.5(–16.2) mm, long-pilose;

tube (3–)3.5–5(–5.2) mm, with 3 or 4(or 5) prominent blister glands between ribs, lobes lanceolate-acuminate, becoming aristate, plumose, with pointed projecting glands laterally.
Legumes

3–3.5 mm, pilosulous and gland-dotted distally.
Seeds

2.8–3 mm.
Principal

leaves 0.3–1.1 cm;

leaflets (5 or)7–13(or 15), blades obovate-cuneate to oblanceolate, 1–6(–7) mm.
2n

= 14, 21, 42.

Dalea formosa
Phenology Flowering spring (fall).
Habitat Rocky desert, grasslands, open woodlands.
Elevation 500–2100 m. (1600–6900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; OK; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

As R. C. Barneby (1977c) pointed out, Dalea formosa is distinctive in appearance. It is complex cytologically, with diploid plants known from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico; tetraploid plants from Texas and Mexico; and hexaploid plants from New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico (R. Spellenberg 1981). In Texas, the species is known from widespread areas of the western half of the state.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Dalea
Sibling taxa
D. albiflora, D. aurea, D. bartonii, D. bicolor, D. brachystachys, D. cahaba, D. candida, D. carnea, D. carthagenensis, D. compacta, D. cylindriceps, D. emarginata, D. enneandra, D. exigua, D. exserta, D. feayi, D. filiformis, D. flavescens, D. foliosa, D. frutescens, D. gattingeri, D. grayi, D. greggii, D. hallii, D. jamesii, D. lachnostachys, D. lanata, D. laniceps, D. lasiathera, D. leporina, D. lumholtzii, D. mollis, D. mollissima, D. multiflora, D. nana, D. neomexicana, D. obovata, D. ornata, D. phleoides, D. pinnata, D. pogonathera, D. polygonoides, D. pringlei, D. pulchra, D. purpurea, D. reverchonii, D. sabinalis, D. scandens, D. scariosa, D. searlsiae, D. tentaculoides, D. tenuifolia, D. tenuis, D. urceolata, D. versicolor, D. villosa, D. wrightii
Name authority Torrey: Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 2: 177. (1827)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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