White Prairie Clover (Dalea candida): white Minnesota wildflowers

White Prairie Clover

Plant Info
Also known as:
Scientific name:	Dalea candida
Family:	Pea (Fabaceae)
Life cycle:	perennial
Origin:	native
Habitat:	sun; dry to moderate prairies, rocky or sandy soil
Bloom season:	summer
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

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Flower:: Flowers are tightly packed on a cylindrical spike 1 to 3 inches long. Individual flowers are about ¼ inch across, 5 white petals and 5 protruding white stamen, blooming from the bottom of the spike up. Each spike is at the end of a long stem. One plant produces 1 to several stems.
Leaves:: Leaves are compound in groups of 5 to 9, alternately attached on the main stem. Leaflets are up to 1½ inches long and usually less than ¼ inch wide. Leaves are hairless and toothless, and have glandular dots on the underside.
Notes:: White Prairie Clover is similar to Purple Prairie Clover, Besides the flower color, the most obvious difference is the leaf size—the leaves on White Prairie Clover are rather larger and not as densely packed on the stem. Purple Prairie Clover also starts blooming earlier than White Prairie Clover.

Photos taken at Long Lake Regional Park, New Brighton, MN June-July 2007

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