Dalea mollis
| Dalea mollis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Genus: | Dalea |
| Species: | D. mollis |
| Binomial name | |
| Dalea mollis Benth. | |
Dalea mollis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family which is known by the common name hairy prairie clover. This wildflower is native to the deserts where Mexico meets the US states of California and Arizona. It is a common member of various desert ecosystems in the region. It tends to form small, flat patches on the gravelly desert floor and on slopes and weedy roadsides. This is a small cloverlike mat-forming annual legume with gland-dotted foliage covered thickly in long white hairs. The leaves are made up of several pairs of small, folded, oval-shaped leaflets each about a centimeter long. The plant flowers in pea-like blooms just under a centimeter wide which may be lavender, yellow, or white, sometimes bicolored. The fruit is a small, single-seeded legume pod.