SILKTOP DALEA
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| File Size: 85 KB |
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Dalea aurea Nutt. ex Pursh
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| Mitchell County, Kansas |
| Perennial |
| Height: 8-30 inches |
| Family: Fabaceae - Bean Family |
| Flowering Period: June, July, August |
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| 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. |
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| 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 |
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