Flora of North America species comparison

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Dalea purpurea var. purpurea

Dalea purpurea
Photo is of parent taxon

purple prairie clover

purple prairie-clover
Habit Herbs usually puberulent, pilose, or tomentulose, some-times glabrous proximal to inflorescences.
Stems

2–9 dm.

2–9 dm, eglandular or with few scattered glands.
Inflorescences

spikes, densely flowered, not involucrate, 7–12 mm diam.;

axis not visible, (1–)1.5–7 cm;

bracts persistent through anthesis, (2.3–)2.7–5.8(–7) mm.
Peduncles

0–10 cm, often absent or very short on side shoots.

(0–)3–15 cm.
Spikes

(8–)9.5–12 mm diam. 2n = 14.

Stamens

5, 5.6–8.5(–9) mm, filaments distinct to 3–5.2(–5.5) mm, anthers (0.7–)0.8–1.3(–1.4) mm.
Corollas

rose, magenta, pale purple, lilac, or pink;

not conventionally papilionaceous;

banner (4.3–)4.7–6.7(–7.2) mm, blade ovate to suborbiculate, 1.7–2.6(–2.8) × 1.7–2.8(–3.2) mm; epistemonous petals attached at separation of filaments, blades 2.5–3.8(–4) × 0.8–1.3(–1.5)mm.
Calyces

subsymmetric, 3.2–4.5 mm, pilosulous, base with antrorse hairs;

tube (1.7–)2–2.8(–2.9) mm, with 0 glands between ribs, lobes lanceolate to ovate, adaxial pair broadest.
Legumes

2.1–2.6 mm, distally pilosulous and gland-dotted.
Seeds

1.6–2.1 mm.
Perennial

herbs, erect to spreading, glabrous, puberulent, pilose, or tomentulose.
Principal

leaves 1.7–4(–4.5) cm;

leaflets 3 or 5(or 7), blades linear to linear-elliptic, (7–)10–24(–28) mm.

Dalea purpurea var. purpurea

Dalea purpurea
Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Prairies, open woods.
Elevation 10–2300 m. (0–7500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CO; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; ND; NE; NM; NY; OH; OK; SD; TN; TX; WI; WY; AB; MB; ON; SK
from USDA
North America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

In Texas, var. purpurea is known from scattered localities across the northern part of the state with a range that does not overlap with var. arenicola. Variety purpurea is introduced in Arizona and probably elsewhere.

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

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Dalea purpurea is characteristic of prairies and has a wide geographical distribution. It is sometimes cultivated for its showy purple flowers and drought tolerance. Livestock find it palatable; it decreases with grazing.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Spikes (8–)9.5–12 mm diam.; peduncles 0–10 cm (often absent or very short on side shoots).
var. purpurea
1. Spikes 7–9 mm diam.; peduncles 3–15 cm.
var. arenicola
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Dalea > Dalea purpurea Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Dalea
Sibling taxa
D. purpurea var. arenicola
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. ornata, D. phleoides, D. pinnata, D. pogonathera, D. polygonoides, D. pringlei, D. pulchra, D. reverchonii, D. sabinalis, D. scandens, D. scariosa, D. searlsiae, D. tentaculoides, D. tenuifolia, D. tenuis, D. urceolata, D. versicolor, D. villosa, D. wrightii
Subordinate taxa
D. purpurea var. arenicola, D. purpurea var. purpurea
Synonyms Petalostemon purpureus
Name authority unknown Ventenat: Descr. Pl. Nouv., plate 40. (1801)
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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