Dalea villosa (Hairy Prairie-Clover) - photos and description
General: Perennial with a spreading growth habit, stems branching from the crown, arching or lay close to the ground. Plants densely hairy giving the foliage a greyish-green colour.
Flowers: Flowers grow in dense spikes. The flowers are pink-purple in colour with gold stamens, slightly fragrant, We measured spikes to 14 cm long. 1 to 5 spikes at ends of stems, spikes elongating as flowers appear, flowers begin at bottom of spike and appear later at the tip.
Leaves: Leaves alternate, pinnate, 9 to 13 leaflets grey-green in colour, linear, we measured a leaflet at 12 mm long by 2 mm wide.
Height: Height is listed in Budd's Flora to 50 cm, we measured plants to 34 cm tall.
Habitat: Prairie sand hills.
Abundance: This plant is extremely rare, ranked as an S2 (as of 2021) by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.
Origin: Native.
Synonym: Listed in some of the field guides we use as Petalostemon villosum.
When and where photographed: Took the above photos July 28th, sandy roadside in south west Saskatchewan.