Plant Database

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Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb , Subshrub
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Fruit Type: Legume
Size Notes: "Stems up to 2-4.5 dm long." (bibref: 1812).
Leaf: "Leaf-spurs 0.4-1.6 mm long; stipules subulate to narrowly lance-acuminate or -caudate, (1.5) 2-6 (7) mm long, early brown or stramineous, in age dry and fragile, either glabrous or ciliolate; intrapetlolular glands 0; post-petiolular glands mostiy minute and immersed, sometimes 0; leaves petioled, the primary cauline ones 1.7-4 (4.5) cm long, with narrowly thick-margined, remotely punctate rachis and nearly always 5, exceptionally 3 or 7 linear-oblanceolate, linear, or linear-elliptic, abruptly short-acuminate or acute, tightly involute or if explanate then marginally elevated, dorsally carinate leaflets up to (7) 10-24 (28) mm long, the terminal leaflet either subsessile or very short-stalked, usually a trifle longer than the rest, the leaves of spurs and some upper leaves mostly 3-foliolate, their leaflets of the same type but smaller." (bibref: 1812).
Flower: "Peduncles almost 0 up to 9, at least of central or primary spikes, 3-15 cm long, the first spike of each principal stem-axis usually pedunculate but the lateral ones subsessile, when stems monocephalous the spike either pedunculate or sessile; spikes very dense, conelike, ovoid becoming oblong-cylindroid, without petals 7-8.5 mm diameter, the densely villosulous axis becoming 1-4 (5) cm long; bracts disjointing only with the fruiting calyx, subdimorphic, the lowest firm, ovate to lance-acuminate or -caudate, 2.5-7 mm long, the recurving tall 1.5-4 mm long, the interfloral ones (2.3) 2.7-5.8 mm long, 1-1.8 (2.2) mm wide, the papery, stramineous or castaneous-flecked, membranous-margined, glabrous or subglabrous body oblanceolate or spatulate in outline, sometimes charged dorsally with 1-2 small livid glands, at apex densely pilosulous on the back and ciliolate, abruptly contracted into a subulate, erect or recurved, usually livid, either glabrous, puberulent, or rarely pilosulous tall (0.5) 0.7-3 mm long; calyx 3.2-4.5 (5) mm long, densely pilosulous throughout with ascending (when dry golden) hairs up to 0.2-0.7 mm long, the tube (1.7) 2-2.8 (2.9) mm long, not recessed behind banner, bluntly pentagonal and not prominently ribbed, the ribs either castaneous or concolorous with the submembranous, heavily castaneous-flecked, glandless intervals, the teeth of nearly equal length but different widths, the 3 dorsal ones lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 1.1-1.9 (2.1) mm long, 0.1-1.4 mm shorter than tube, the ventral pair ovate, up to twice as broad, the blades of all flat, green or livid-castaneous, rarely glabrescent externally, connivent in age; petals concolorous, vivid rose- or magenta-purple, pale purple, rarely lilac, pinkish, or exceptionally white, glandless; banner (4.3) 4.1-6.1 (7.2) mm long, the filiform claw (2.6) 2.8-4.2 (4.5) mm, the scoop-shaped, apically hooded and obtuse to emarginate blade broadly cuneate to truncate or subcordate at base, 1.7-2.6 (2.8) mm long, 1.7-2.8 (3.2) mm wide; epistemonous petals all alike, (3) 3.2-4.5 (5) mm long, the claw 0.5-1.2 (1.6) mm, the oblong or oblong-oblanceolate, obtuse or truncate, apically concave blades 2.5-3.8 (4) mm long, 0.8-1.3 (1.5) mm wide, either cuneate or truncate at base; androecium 5.6-8.5 (9) mm long, the column (2.6) 3-4.3 mm, the purplish free filaments up to 3-5.2 (5.5) mm long, the orange yellow anthers (0.7) 0.8-1.3 (1.4) mm long." (bibref: 1812).
Fruit: "Pod obliquely obovoid, 2.1-2.6 mm long, the valves hyaline glabrous in lower 1/2 or 1/3, thence thinly papery, pilosulous, gland-dotted; seed brown or olivaceous, smooth, sublustrous, 1.6-2.1 mm long." (bibref: 1812).

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White , Pink , Purple
Bloom Time: May , Jun , Jul , Aug
Bloom Notes: "Petals concolorous, vivid rose- or magenta-purple, pale purple, rarely lilac, pinkish, or exceptionally white." (bibref: 1812).

Distribution

USA: CO , KS , NE , NM , OK , TX
Native Distribution: "Locally abundant on the Staked Plains and short-grass prairies drained by the upper Red and Canadian rivers in northwest Texas, immediatedly adjacent New Mexico, and far western Oklahoma, in Texas southward to the sources of the Colorado and Concho rivers, northward through the southwest quarter of Kansas drained by the Cimarron and Arkansas rivers and extreme eastern Colorado on the upper Republican and Frenchman rivers to the forks of the Platte in western Nebraska, there passing intoD. p. var. purpurea." (bibref: 1812).
Native Habitat: "Sandy bluffs, dunes, and sandy alluvial flats along streams or dry watercourses, 570-1300 m (1900-4330 ft)." (bibref: 1812).

Bibliography

Bibref 1812 - Daleae imagines : an illustrated revision of Errazurizia Philippi, Psorothamnus Rydberg, Marina Leibmann, and Dalea Lucanus emend. Barneby, including all species of Leguminosae tribe Amorpheae Borissova ever referred to Dalea (1977) Barneby, Rupert C.

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Additional resources

USDA: Find Dalea purpurea var. arenicola in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Dalea purpurea var. arenicola in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Dalea purpurea var. arenicola