Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Dalea jamesii

Dalea ornata

James' dalea, James' prairie clover

Blue Mountain prairie-clover, ornate dalea, western prairie clover
Stems

0.4–1.7(–2) dm, eglandular.

(2–)2.5–6(–7) dm, dotted with small, raised glands.
Inflorescences

spikes, relatively densely flowered, not obviously involucrate, (16–)18–23(–25) mm diam.;

axis not to partially visible, 1.5–6.5(–8) cm;

bracts deciduous at anthesis, (4–)5–8(–9) mm.

spikes, densely flowered, not involucrate, 13–16 mm diam.;

axis not visible, (1–)1.5–5 cm;

bracts deciduous, interfloral ones often held in place by crowded flowers, (3–)4–7.5(–8.5) mm.
Peduncles

absent or very short.

1–11 cm.
Stamens

10, (9.5–)10–11.7 mm, filaments distinct to 1.7–3 mm, anthers (0.8–)0.9–1.2 mm.

5, (7.3–)7.7–12 mm, filaments distinct to (3.6–)4.7–7.6 mm, anthers 1–1.4 mm.
Corollas

clear yellow, orangish brown in age; papilionaceous;

banner 5.2–6.2 mm, blade deltate-cordate, 3.2–4.2 × 3.2–4.4 mm, proximal lobes connate, forming obconic pit; epistemonous petals attached proximal to middle of stamen tube;

wings 3.9–5.1 × 2.3–3.2 mm;

keel connate valvately, blades 5.3–6.3 × 3.2–3.8 mm.

usually rose-purple to lilac, rarely white;

not conventionally papilionaceous;

banner 7–9 mm, blade ovate to oblong-ovate, 3.3–4.5 × (2–)2.3–4 mm; epistemonous petals attached at separation of filaments, blades (3.3–)3.5–5 × 1.4–2 mm.
Calyces

somewhat asymmetric, slightly recessed opposite banner, (8.3–)8.5–12(–13.3) mm, pilose;

tube (2.4–)2.8–3.5 mm, with 3 or 4 small glands between ribs, lobes triangular-aristate.

subsymmetric, (3.6–)3.9–6.3(–6.7) mm, pilose throughout or distally;

tube (2.4–)2.7–3.6(–3.8) mm, with 2–9 small glands between ribs, lobes lanceolate to ovate.
Legumes

3.5–4 mm, distally with 2 rows of ascending hairs on either side of a glabrescent row, eglandular.

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

2.3–3 mm.

2–2.4 mm.
Perennial

herbs, erect to ascending, silky-pilose to -pilosulous.

herbs, erect, glabrous proximal to inflorescence.
Principal

leaves (0.6–)1–3(–4) cm;

leaflets 3, blades obovate to broadly oblanceolate, (3–)5–18 mm, surfaces apparently eglandular.

leaves 2.5–5.5(–6.5) cm;

leaflets 5 or 7 (or 9), blades oblanceolate to obovate, 7–22 mm.
2n

= 14.

= 14.

Dalea jamesii

Dalea ornata
Phenology Flowering spring–early summer (fall). Flowering spring–early summer.
Habitat Rocky grasslands, deserts, open pine or juniper woodlands. Rocky, sandy, or clay soils in dry areas, often among sagebrush.
Elevation 900–2100 m. (3000–6900 ft.) 100–2000 m. (300–6600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; KS; NM; OK; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; ID; NV; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Dalea jamesii occurs from far southwestern Kansas to southeastern Arizona. In Texas, the species occurs in the northern panhandle and trans-Pecos regions.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Dalea ornata is nearly endemic to the Columbia-Snake river basin. In California, the species is known only from the Shaffer Mountain region in Lassen County.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Dalea 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. formosa, D. frutescens, D. gattingeri, D. grayi, D. greggii, D. hallii, 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
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. formosa, 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. 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
Synonyms Psoralea jamesii Petalostemon ornatus
Name authority (Torrey) Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 308. (1838) (Douglas) Eaton & Wright: Man. Bot. ed. 8, 219. (1840) — (as ornatum)
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).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers