Minnesota Wildflowers


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Dalea purpurea (Purple Prairie Clover)

Plant Info
Also known as:
Genus:Dalea
Family:Fabaceae (Pea)
Life cycle:perennial
Origin:native
Habitat:sun; dry fields, prairies, rocky areas
Bloom season:June - August
Plant height:1 to 3 feet
USDA PLANTS database:Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:

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Detailed Information

Flower: 5-petals spike

[photo of flowers] Tiny 5-petaled purple flowers with orange or yellow-tipped stamens in a thimble-shaped flower head ½ to 2½ inches long. The flowers bloom from the bottom of the spike up; the upper part of the spike is a dull gray. One plant may have several flower heads.

Leaves: alternate compound

[photo of leaves] Small compound leaves 1½ to 3 inches long, with 3 to 7 narrow leafets each up to 1 inch long. The leaves are often densly packed on the lower part of the stem and more sparse on the upper part. Attachment is alternate.

Notes:

Purple Prairie Clover often grows in clumps. The field where these photos were taken had Black-eyed Susans in bloom at the same time. It was a very pretty contrast.

Where to buy native seed and plants

Help support this site by buying seeds & plants from these vendors. Tell them we sent you!

  • Shop for native seeds and plants at PrairieMoon.com!
  • Out Back Nursery and Landscaping - Where Ecology and Horticulture Unite
  • Shooting Star Native Seeds - Native Prairie Grass and Wildflower Seeds
  • Prairie Restorations - Bringing people together with the land

Map of native plant purveyors in the upper midwest

More photos

All photos taken at Long Lake Regional Park, New Brighton, MN July 2006.

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: Kristin in Avon
on: 2009-08-02 18:02:17

These lovely little flowers bloom all along the wobegone trail between St. Joseph and Albany.

Posted by: Lisa R in Nevis (12 miles from Park Rapi
on: 2009-08-19 09:18:40

I just noticed some of these beautiful little flowers this year for the first time. They are growing along the Heartland Trail just outside of Nevis.

Posted by: Ed in Houston County
on: 2011-07-08 20:26:26

I did a wild flowrer planting on a hillside at our La Crescent, MN Farm 7 years ago. This summer (2011) for the first time, these beautiful purple flowers came alive.

Posted by: Daniel in St. Paul, Lake Phalen
on: 2011-07-11 05:09:13

I saw only two of these flowers on my 3 mile walk around the lake. I hope they will not be molested so there will be more next year. I am from Illinois and have never seen them there. These flowers are beautiful!

Posted by: john in rochester, mn
on: 2011-07-14 22:48:46

I have seen these flowers along the bike trail, between mayowood and hy vee parking lot.

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