Dalea leporina
Dalea albiflora
fox-tail prairie-clover, foxtail dalea, hare's-foot dalea
whiteflower prairie clover
(1.5–)2.5–10(–15) dm, ± sparsely glandular-verruculose distally.
(2–)2.5–5(–7) dm, sparsely gland-dotted distally.
spikes, relatively densely flowered, not involucrate, 8–12(–15) mm diam.;
axis usually not visible, (0.8–)1.5–7(–10) cm;
bracts deciduous by anthesis, 2.5–7 mm.
spikes, densely flowered, not involucrate, 7–10 mm diam.;
axis not visible, (1–)1.5–6(–7) cm;
bracts early deciduous to persistent, 1.5–3.2 mm.
(1.5–)3–12(–15) cm.
0.5–8.5 cm.
9 or 10, 5–6.8 mm, filaments distinct to 0.6–1 mm, anthers 0.2–0.4 mm.
10, (5–)6–8 mm, filaments distinct to 3.5–4.5 mm, anthers 0.4–0.6 mm.
white to purple or blue;
not conventionally papilionaceous;
banner (3.4–)4.4–6 mm, blade ovate to oblong-elliptic, (1.7–)2–3.7 × 1.2–2.4 mm; epistemonous petals attached near or distal to middle of stamen tube, blades (1.3–)1.6–2.4 × (0.4–)0.5–1 mm, laterals often slightly narrower than abaxials.
white;
not conventionally papilionaceous;
banner plane, (4.4–)5–6.4 mm, blade oblong-ovate, not peltate, proximally cordate to cuneate, (2.6–)3–4 × (2–)2.2–3.4 mm; epistemonous petals attached high on stamen tube, just proximal to separation of filaments, blades (2.7–)3.1–4.4 × (0.8–)1.3–1.9(–2.2) mm.
asymmetric, recessed opposite banner, 3–5.2 mm, sparsely to densely pilose or pilosulous;
tube (1.7–)2–2.5(–2.8) mm, with (1 or)2 irregular rows of 2–6 small glands between ribs, sometimes merging into fewer, larger glands, lobes ovate-triangular to lanceolate-acuminate.
asymmetric, recessed opposite banner, (2.8–)3.2–5.1 mm, pilosulous;
tube (1.9–)2–3(–3.3) mm, with 3–6 glands between ribs, lobes triangular.
1.4–3 mm, pilosulous distally and, sometimes, glandular-punctate.
2.2–2.9 mm, villosulous distally and gland-dotted.
1.7–2.4 mm.
1.6–2 mm.
herbs, erect, glabrous proximal to inflorescences.
leaves 2–9.5 cm;
leaflets (17–)21–35(–49), blades oblanceolate to obovate, (2–)3–12 mm.
leaves 1–4 cm;
leaflets (13–)17–35(–41), blades oblanceolate to linear-elliptic, (1.5–)2–7(–10) mm.
herbs, erect, ± silky-villosulous.
= 14.
= 14, 24.
Dalea leporina
Dalea albiflora
Dalea leporina has the broadest range of any member of Dalea, from the interior of the United States and Mexico to Costa Rica, and is disjunct in the Andes Mountains of South America. It varies in some characters, most of which were regarded by R. C. Barneby (1977c) as trivial or not taxonomically useful. It has been found on occasion as a weed far east of its range, for example, in Massachusetts (D. E. Snyder 1950).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Dalea albiflora is a complex and variable species that could use further morphological and cytological studies. While herbarium specimens cannot be sorted into varieties in any consistent way, in the field, delicate plants with slender, creeping rootstocks may grow with, and appear quite distinct from, plants with a stout caudex; such plants have been called D. ordiae. There are few chromosome counts available; preliminary study suggests that the former plants are tetraploid and the latter diploid (D. E. Ward et al. 1993).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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