Cal campanulate to tubular or ellipsoid, strongly to obscurely 10-ribbed and often angled, the lobes in our spp. equal or subequal; pet all long-clawed, only the banner borne on the hypanthium, the other 4 set in sockets on the staminal tube or between the filaments at its summit; stamens 5-10, all with anthers; ovary short, with 2 ovules, only one fertile; style elongate; fr indehiscent, enclosed by the persistent cal; glandular-punctate herbs (ours) or shrubs with spirally twisted hairs (sometimes glabrous except for the mouth of the cal), small, odd-pinnate lvs and terminal bracteate spikes or heads of numerous small fls, x=7. (Kuhnistera, Parosela, Petalostemon) Petalostemon, often held as distinct, can be seen as an integral part of Dalea when the whole genus is considered. 160, New World.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
