Purple Prairie Clover

Plant Info

Also known as:
Scientific name:	Dalea purpurea
Family:	Pea (Fabaceae)
Life cycle:	perennial
Origin:	native
Habitat:	sun; dry fields, prairies, rocky areas
Bloom season:	summer, fall
Plant height:	1 to 3 feet
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Long Lake Regional Park Rice Creek Trail Corridor Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Detailed Information

Flower:

Tiny 5-petaled purple flowers with orange or yellow-tipped stamen 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:

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.

More photos

• a clump of Purple Prairie Clover

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

Comments

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

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Please: Do not ask about where to buy seed or other gardening questions, are plants edible, etc. I am not a horticulturist or botanist, just an enthusiastic hobbyist so I probably don't know the answer. Please check the links page for additional resources. -thanks much

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