Dalea purpurea Vent.
Purple prairie clover
Purple prairie clover is native to North America, and common throughout much of the continent. Like many members of the legume family, this clover “fixes” nitrogen from the atmosphere, allowing it to thrive in soils that are too poor to support many other plants.
Plants: 9–36″ (22–91 cm) tall, unbranched when young, becoming multiply branched when older. The main stem is woody and ridged.
Leaves: Odd pinnate, with 3-7 leaflets per group, each ⅜–1½ ⨉ ⅛″ (1–4 cm ⨉ 3.2 mm).
Flowers: The flowerhead is a spike or cylinder on the tip of each branch, ⅜–2½ ⨉ ¾–1¼″ (1–6.6 ⨉ 1.9–3.2 cm) in diameter when flowering. Flowerheads don’t bloom all at once—there is a band of bright purple flowers somewhere along the green head at any given time. Individual flowers are about ¼″ (8.5 mm) in size, with five magenta-purple petals and five tiny yellow anthers.
Fruits: A dry, hairless seed that remains in the calyx until dislodged by passing animals or strong wind.
Habitats: Mesic to dry black soil prairies, gravel prairies, sand prairies, hill prairies, typical savannas and sandy savannas, limestone glades, and sandy hills or dunes.
Edibility: Some indigenous peoples chewed the roots, said to have a pleasant, sweet flavor. Dried leaves have been used as a substitute for tea.
Medical:
Online References:
6/3/2009 · Kolob Canyons, Zion National Park, Utah · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (8.8 × 13 cm) 
6/3/2009 · Kolob Canyons, Zion National Park, Utah · ≈ 4 × 4″ (10 × 10 cm) 
6/3/2009 · Kolob Canyons, Zion National Park, Utah 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Fabales | Legumes (pea and bean families) |
| Family | Fabaceae | Legume family (peas and beans) |
| Genus | Dalea | Named after Samuel Dale (1659-1739), an English physician, botanist and botanical collector, and gardener who was the author of several botanical works and a treatise on medicinal plants. He was an associate of several major botanical figures in England, notably John Ray, one of the founding figures of British botany and zoology, William Sherard, and Mark Catesby |
| Species | purpurea | Purple |
Dalea purpurea description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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