Common name:
Pringle's prairie clover
Family:
Scientific name:
Dalea pringlei
Synonym:
Thornbera pringlei
Main flower color:
Range:
Southeast Arizona
Height:
Up to 2 feet
Habitat:
Canyon sides, mountain slopes; 2,500 to 5,000 feet
Leaves:
Opposite, up to 2.5 inches long; compound, with between 15 and 47 small, elliptic to oblong leaflets
Season:
April to October
Dalea pringlei is an attractive, small-flowered species found on slopes and along canyons, in desert areas. Stems are grey-green, hairless and upright, and slightly woody towards the base. Leaves are compound, with an odd number of tiny oval leaflets; one terminal and up to 23 opposite, non-overlapping pairs. Leaflets are also hairless, and colored greyish green.
The flower spikes are relatively long (up to 4 inches), but thin, less than half an inch across. Most visible are the purplish, lance-shaped bracts between the flowers; they taper to a narrow point, and are densely covered by long, silky hairs, on both surfaces. The lower surfaces of the bracts are dotted with small glands.
The flower corolla is bright pink-purple, and its five petals are clawed (narrow at the base), and quite well-separated from each other. Ten stamens protrude well beyond the petals; they have thin white filaments and larger yellow anthers. Flowers appear in stages, from the base of the inflorescence upwards; often only three or four are in bloom at any one time
The flower spikes are relatively long (up to 4 inches), but thin, less than half an inch across. Most visible are the purplish, lance-shaped bracts between the flowers; they taper to a narrow point, and are densely covered by long, silky hairs, on both surfaces. The lower surfaces of the bracts are dotted with small glands.
The flower corolla is bright pink-purple, and its five petals are clawed (narrow at the base), and quite well-separated from each other. Ten stamens protrude well beyond the petals; they have thin white filaments and larger yellow anthers. Flowers appear in stages, from the base of the inflorescence upwards; often only three or four are in bloom at any one time
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