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Photographer: Kitty Kohout
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Family Fabaceae
Dalea purpurea Vent. var. purpurea
purple prairie-clover, violet prairie-clover
Dalea: named after Samuel Dale (1659-1739), an English physician, botanist and botanical collector, and gardener who was the author of several botanical works and a treatise on medicinal plants. He was an associate of several major botanical figures in England,
purpurea: from Greek for "purple"
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| Status: | Native |
| Plant: | erect, perennial, 1'-3' tall forb, mostly hairless |
| Flower: | purple, 5-parted, 1/4" long; inflorescence up to 2" long, dense spike blooming from the bottom upward; blooms June-Aug. |
| Fruit: | tiny pod not splitting open when mature |
| Leaf: | many, very narrow, pinnately-divided into an odd number of leaflets (5) which roll backward when dry |
| Habitat: | full sun; dry to moderate moisture; prairies, meadows; in sandy, loamy soil |
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