SILKTOP DALEA
File Size: 85 KB
 
Dalea aurea  Nutt. ex  Pursh
Mitchell County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 8-30 inches
Family: Fabaceae - Bean Family
Flowering Period:   June, July, August
Also Called: Golden prairie-clover.
Stems: Erect, 1 to several, simple or occasionally branched above, silky-hairy.
Leaves: Alternate, stalked, few, odd-pinnately compound, .5 to 1.5 inch long, .5 to 1 inch wide, reduced above; leaflets 3-9, egg-shaped, to 3/4 inch long, grayish green; tips mostly blunt or terminating in minute, abrupt points.
Inflorescences: Spikes, solitary, oblong or cone-like, .5 to 2.5 inches long, densely flowered, silky-hairy, terminal.
Flowers: Encircling spikes and blooming from base upward; calyces 5-lobed, silky-hairy; margins feathery; corollas papilionaceous, bright yellow; stamens 10, united.
Fruits: Pods, less than 1/6 inch long, silky-hairy, 1-seeded; seeds tiny, smooth, yellow.
Habitat: Rocky prairie slopes, open wooded or brushy hillsides, waste areas, stream valleys, and ravines.
Distribution: West 4/5 of Kansas.
Origin: Native
Forage Value: Livestock find it palatable, so it decreases with grazing.
Uses: Native Americans used silktop dalea to treat diarrhea and colic.
Comments: Silktop dalea's sparse foliage aids it in withstanding drought conditions.

Silktop dalea
139 KB
Mitchell County, Kansas
Silktop dalea
185 KB
Mitchell County, Kansas
Silktop dalea fruiting
86 KB
Mitchell County, Kansas
Silktop dalea leaf
115 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Silktop dalea leaves
37 KB
Ellsworth County, Kansas
Silktop dalea inflorescence
37 KB
Ellsworth County, Kansas
Silktop dalea
184 KB
Ellsworth County, Kansas