purple prairie clover

(Dalea purpurea var. purpurea)

Conservation Status
purple prairie clover
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

N5? - Secure

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Purple prairie clover is a 8 to 36 tall, erect, perennial forb that rises on multiple stems from a deep, stout taproot.

The stems are erect, slender, ribbed, and green. They are unbranched below the middle, branched or unbranched above the middle. They may be hairless or sparsely covered with short, matted or tangled, soft, woolly hairs.

The leaves are alternate and short-stalked. They are pinnately divided into usually 5, sometimes 3 or 7, very narrow leaflets. At the base of the leaf stalk there is a pair of leaf-like appendages (stipules). The stipules are linear and about 3 16 long.

The leaflets are linear to linear oblong, 5 16 to 1 long, and about 1 16 wide. They are short-stalked or nearly stalkless. The upper surface is sparsely covered with short, matted or tangled, soft, woolly hairs. The lower surface is dotted with translucent, sunken glands. The margins are untoothed and are rolled inward toward the upper side. The leaflets roll backward when they dry.

The inflorescence is a dense spike of numerous flowers at the end of the stem. The flowers at the bottom of the spike bloom first. The flowers above the bottom bloom in a ring and the spike continues to lengthen as the season progresses. The spike cone-shaped at first, eventually becoming cylinder-shaped and ¾ to 2¾ long. Each flower, except the lowest, is subtended by a short, papery, modified leaf (bract). The bract is inversely egg-shaped, about 3 16 long, and hairy. It tapers to a dark, awl-shaped tip.

The flowers are 3 16 to ¼ long. There are 5 sepals, 5 petals, 5 stamens, and 1 style. The sepals are united at the base into a bell-shaped, long calyx tube then separated into 5 lobes. They are densely covered with silky or woolly hairs. The stamens are fused at their base into a white, long column. The petals are pinkish-purple and are distinctly narrowed at the base (clawed). Like other flowers in the pea family, they are arranged into an upper keel, formed by the fused upper two petals, two lateral wings, and a lower banner. Unlike other pea family flowers, they do not appear butterfly-like. Only the banner is attached at the base of the flower. The wings and keel are attached to the staminal column and appear as staminal appendages. The filaments above the staminal column are about long and are tipped with yellow anthers. The stamens and style protrude beyond the petals. The flowers are not fragrant.

The fruit is a tiny, egg-shaped pod enclosed within the persistent calyx. It contains 1 seed.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

8 to 36

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

Pinkish-purple

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

White prairie clover (Dalea candida) leaves have 5, 7, or 9 leaflets. The leaflets are much wider, up to ¼ wide. The flowers are white.

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Dry to moderate moisture. Prairies, meadows. Full sun.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

June to August

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

 

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 24, 28, 29, 30.

 
  6/1/2023      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)  
  Superorder Rosanae  
 

Order

Fabales (legumes, milkworts, and allies)  
 

Family

Fabaceae (legumes)  
  Subfamily Faboideae  
  Tribe Amorpheae  
 

Genus

Dalea (prairie clovers)  
  Species Dalea purpurea (purple prairie clover)  
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
       
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Petalostemon mollis

Petalostemon purpureus

Petalostemon purpureus var. mollis

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

purple prairie clover

purple prairie-clover

purple prairieclover

violet dalea

violet prairie clover

violet prairie-clover

violet prairieclover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Calyx

The group of outer floral leaves (sepals) below the petals, occasionally forming a tube.

 

Claw

A stalk-like narrowed base of some petals and sepals.

 

Filament

On plants: The thread-like stalk of a stamen which supports the anther. On Lepidoptera: One of a pair of long, thin, fleshy extensions extending from the thorax, and sometimes also from the abdomen, of a caterpillar.

 

Linear

Long, straight, and narrow, with more or less parallel sides, like a blade of grass.

 

Pinnate

On a compound leaf, having the leaflets arranged on opposite sides of a common stalk. On a bryophyte, having branches evenly arranged on opposite sides of a stem.

 

Sepal

An outer floral leaf, usually green but sometimes colored, at the base of a flower.

 

Stipule

A small, leaf-like, scale-like, glandular, or rarely spiny appendage found at the base of a leaf stalk, usually occurring in pairs and usually dropping soon.

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

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Dan W. Andree

 
 

Bumble Bee on Purple Prairie Clover....

Taken at Sandpiper Prairie SNA rural Norman Co. Mn. July 20 2018.

  northern amber bumble bee  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Habitat

 
    purple prairie clover      
           
 

Plant

 
    purple prairie clover   purple prairie clover  
           
    purple prairie clover      
           
 

Tillered Plant

 
    purple prairie clover      
           
 

Inflorescence

 
    purple prairie clover   purple prairie clover  
           
    purple prairie clover   purple prairie clover  
           
    purple prairie clover   purple prairie clover  
           
 

Leaves

 
    purple prairie clover   purple prairie clover  
           
 

Infructescence

 
    purple prairie clover      

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Dalea purpurea
Matt Lavin
 
  Dalea purpurea  
 
About

Native perennial herb, stems less than 50 cm and arising several-many from a branched root crown, herbage glandular punctate, pods inconspicuous, concealed inside the small calyx tube and with 1-2 seeds, tolerates the stability of well managed rangeland and sagebrush steppe as well as the disturbance of roadsides, but readily grazed to local extinction (the same is true with the other species of this genus in Montana and vicinity).

 
  Petalostemum purpureum PURPLE PRAIRIE CLOVER
Frank Mayfield
 
  Petalostemum purpureum PURPLE PRAIRIE CLOVER  

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

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Other Videos
 
  Bees
wnerraw's channel
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Jul 19, 2010

flower is Dalea purpurea (purple prairie clover). both honeybees and bumblebees.

   

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

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  Dan W. Andree
7/20/2018

Location: Sandpiper Prairie SNA rural Norman Co. Mn.

northern amber bumble bee  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

Afton State Park

Agassiz Dunes SNA

Antelope Valley SNA

Baker Park Reserve

Belgium Prairie

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Blazing Star Prairie Addition Preserve, South Unit

Blue Mounds State Park

Bonanza Prairie SNA

Buffalo River State Park

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Butternut Valley Prairie SNA

Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center

Carver Highlands WMA, South Unit

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Chippewa Prairie

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Compass Prairie SNA

Cottonwood River Prairie SNA

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Kettledrummer Prairie

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McKnight Prairie

Miller Prairie, West Unit

Minneopa State Park

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Mississippi River County Park

Mound Prairie SNA

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Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve

Myre-Big Island State Park

Neal WMA

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Old Mill State Park

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Oronoco Prairie SNA

Osmundson Prairie SNA

Oxbow Park & Zollman Zoo

Pankratz Memorial Prairie, North Unit

Pembina Trail Preserve SNA, Crookston Prairie Unit

Pembina Trail Preserve SNA, Pembina Trail Unit

Pine Bend Bluffs SNA

Plover Prairie, East Unit

Prairie Bush Clover SNA

Prairie Coteau SNA

Red Rock Prairie

Regal Meadow

Rice Lake Savanna SNA

River Terrace Prairie SNA

Robert Ney Memorial Park Reserve

Rock Ridge Prairie SNA

Roscoe Prairie SNA

Rushford Sand Barrens SNA

St. Croix Savanna SNA

Sand Prairie Wildlife Management and Environmental Education Area

Sandpiper Prairie SNA

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Savage Fen SNA

Schaefer Prairie

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Seven Sisters Prairie

Sheepberry Fen

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Sibley State Park

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Spring Lake Park Reserve

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Twin Valley Prairie Addition

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Valley View Park

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Vermillion Highlands Research Recreation and WMA

Vermillion River WMA

Western Prairie SNA

Whitetail Woods Regional Park

Whitewater State Park

Wild River State Park

Yellow Bank Hills SNA

Zimmerman Prairie

 

 

 

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