Silky Dalea - Soft Prairie Clover
Downy Dalea
Dalea mollissima
Color: White to pinkish
Common name: Silky Dalea, soft prairie clover, downy dalea,
Latin name: Dalea mollissima
Family: FABACEAE
Height: 4-12 inch long stems
Description: Diminutive or mat-forming. Flowers are similar to others in the pea family growing on dense 2.5 cm-long spikes. Dark glands on the leaf edges and stems.
Leaf: Leaflets 8–12, 3–10 mm, round to oblong, often folded, shallowly lobed, wavy and covered with soft white hairs.
Range: Desert
Habitat: Desert flats, washes
Elevation: < 900 m.
Flowering time: Mar-Jun
Notes: Photographed February 11, 2006, Jubilee Pass, Death Valley. Calif. A dicot, is a common annual or perennial herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Distribution outside California: s Nevada, w Arizona.
Horticulture: Given excellent drainage (modification of compacted or other water-holding soils may be necessary) and full or nearly full sun (tolerates summer afternoon sun), grows especially well in zones 10, 11, 12, and 13.
Photos tips Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
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