Species: Dalea villosa var. villosa (Nutt.) Spreng.

comments | credits | copyright

Back to: Plants at Risk in Saskatchewan

Dalea villosa var. villosa (Nutt.) Spreng.

Species Image Gallery
(opens in a new window)

TAXONOMY

Family:

Fabaceae

Genus:

Dalea

Species Synonyms:

Petalostemon villosus Nutt.

Common Names:

hairy prairie clover
silky prairie clover

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

central and south-central Saskatchewan, southwestern Manitoba

Saskatchewan:

central and south-central Saskatchewan; Dundurn – Mortlach

Ecoregion:

Moist Mixed Grassland

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

stabilized to semi-active sand dune blowouts

Canada:

common sagewort, green milkweed, sand dropseed, Schweinitz’s sedge

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Threatened

Nature Conservancy Status:

G5T5 N2T2 S1

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

Endangered

Hairy prairie clover is threatened because it is rare in Saskatchewan. This species is regionally restricted and occurs in a delicate and fragmented environment.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

20 – 40 cm

Roots:

red-orange

Stem:

caudex branching; stems perennial, 1 – several, ascending or spreading, branching from base, densely long hairy or woolly

Stipules:

5 – 7 mm long

Leaves:

alternate, short stalked, 2 – 4 cm long

Leaflets:

7 – 21, pinnate, 5 – 15 mm long, elliptic, densely silky hairy, glandular-dotted

Inflorescence:

spikes terminal on stems and branches, single or clustered, 2 – 10 cm long, moderately dense, becoming lax and oblong; stalk < 2.5 cm long

Flowers:

bracts linear to lanceolate, 1.5 – 5 mm long; sepal tube densely long hairy, teeth to 1.4 mm; petals reddish-purple or pink to nearly white, banner 4 – 6 mm long, wings and keel 2 – 5 mm long; stamens 5, united to form a tube around the pistil

Fruits:

pods short, 2.5 – 3 mm long, densely long hairy; seeds 1 – 2, 2 – 2.5 mm long, brown, smooth

DALEA KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN

1 Flowers white; sepal tube hairless to finely hairy; floral bracts hairless or with a marginal fringe of hairs	2
1 Flowers rose to purplish; sepal tube and floral bracts densely hairy	3

2 Sepal ribs low and rounded; leaflets greater than 2 mm broad	D. candida var. candida
2 Sepal ribs sharp and wing-like; leaflets less than 2 mm broad	D. candida var. oligophylla

3 Leaflets typically 3 – 5, linear; plant hairless or sparingly hairy; prairie, not usually in loose sand	D. purpurea var. purpurea
3 Leaflets 7 – 21, elliptic; plant densely silky hairy throughout; loose sand	D. villosa