Flora of North America species comparison

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Dalea mollis

hairy prairie clover, silky dalea
Stems

1–3.5(–6.5) dm, glandular-tuberculate.
Inflorescences

racemes, ± densely flowered, pedicels with black, prickleshaped glands at base and toward apex, not involucrate, 8–14 mm diam.;

axis not visible, (0.5–)1–3.5 cm;

bracts deciduous, (3–)4.5–8 mm.
Peduncles

0.2–2.5(–4.5) cm.
Stamens

10, 3.5–5.7 mm, filaments distinct to 2 mm, anthers 0.4–0.6 mm.
Corollas

whitish, banner and keel sometimes lilac-tinged; papilionaceous;

banner 3–4.2 mm, blades broadly triangular to suborbiculate-cordate, (1.5–)1.7–2.9 × 2.2–3.2 mm; epistemonous petals attached near or proximal to middle of stamen tube;

wings 2.1–3 × 1.1–1.4 mm;

keel detaching from stamen tube after anthesis, connate by overlapping margins, blades 2.3–3.4 × 1.4–2 mm.
Calyces

± symmetric, 3.3–6.6 mm, pilose;

tube 1.6–2.5 mm, with (1 or)2–6 glands between ribs, lobes triangular or triangular-aristate.
Legumes

2.2–2.7 mm, pilosulous distally and dotted with small glands.
Seeds

1.8–2.2 mm.
Annual

herbs, prostrate or decumbent, ± pilose or pilosulous.
Principal

leaves (0.5–)1–3.5 cm;

leaflets (7 or) 9–13 (or 15), blades obovate to obcordate, (2–)3–8 mm, margins ± entire or obscurely undulate.
2n

= 16 [Mexico].

Dalea mollis
Phenology Flowering late winter–mid spring (fall–early winter).
Habitat Sandy or rocky desert slopes, flats, roadsides.
Elevation -50–700 m. (-200–2300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Coahuila, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Some collectors assume that Dalea mollis is perennial; the season of bloom can be long in a good year, and individual plants can be robust. Most of the fall and early-winter plants are collected in early bloom; an occasional plant from that time-period is taken in late bloom. Dalea mollis is similar to D. mollissima and mixed collections are relatively common. In California, D. mollis is known from the desert regions in the southeastern part 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. 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. 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 Bentham: Pl. Hartw., 306. (1849)
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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