Silky Dalea - Soft Prairie Clover
Downy Dalea

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.

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