Dalea mollissima

Jepson 2012, Kearney and Peebles 1969

Duration: Annual Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Herbaceous, sometimes mat-forming annuals to perennials, to 35 cm tall, stems erect to prostrate, herbage hairy and gland-dotted. Leaves: Alternate, generally odd-1-pinnate, leaflets 8-14, round to obovate-oblong, 3-10 mm long, generally folded, shallowly lobed or wavy, stipules inconspicuous, thread-like or glandular. Flowers: Pale cream to lavender, clustered in densely soft-hairy infloresences, banner petals attached at the receptacle, other petals attached at the side or top of filament column, wing petals ovate and somewhat narrowed at the apex, calyx tube 10-ribbed,7-8 mm long with pink or red-tinged, needle-like lobes with long soft-hairy surfaces, stamens 9-10, filaments fused, ovules 2, inflorescences in dense spikes, generally 14-16 mm wide, ovoid or short-cylindric, with conspicuous, densely soft-hairy and gland-dotted bracts 1-1.5 mm wide. Fruits: Legumes, indehiscent, included in or exserted from calyx. Seeds 1 per legume. Ecology: Found in washes and on desert flats, to 3,000 ft (914 m); flowering March-May. Distribution: Arizona, California, Nevada; Mexico. Notes: The densely soft-hairy infloresences have needle-like pink or reddish calyx lobes and cream to light lavender flowers. This species is mat-forming or found as low-growing individuals with prostrate or spreading stems. Look for it in Kearney and Peebles under D. neomexicana subsp. mollissimia, determined by the ovate wing petals somehwat narrowed at the apex. Ethnobotany: Specific uses for this species are unknown, but other species in the genus have uses; species used for food. Etymology: Dalea is 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, and mollissima means very soft. Synonyms: Dalea mollis var. mollissima, Dalea neomexicana subsp. mollissima, Parosela millissima Editor: LCrumbacher2012