Foxtail dalea

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Foxtail dalea leaf

Foxtail dalea inflorescence

Foxtail dalea

Morphology

Stem

Erect, simple to much branched, ridged, glandular above, glabrous below inflorescence; branches ascending.

Leaves

Alternate, odd-pinnately compound, 1-4 inches long, short-stalked; main stem leaves with 7-20 pairs of leaflets; leaflets oblong-lanceolate or egg-shaped; 1/8 to 1/2 inch long, glabrous, glandular-dotted beneath; margins entire, sometimes red; tips rounded, notched.

Inflorescence

Spikes, erect, dense, egg-shaped or cylindric, .6 to 3.2 inches long, 1/3 to 1/2 inch in diameter, soft-hairy, terminal on stalks at ends of branches and opposite leaves; flowers closely overlapping, each subtended by egg-shaped to lanceolate bract with thin, membranous margin.

Flower

Calyx 5-lobed, 1/10 inch long, 10-ribbed, finely-hairy; lobes awl-shaped, long-pointed, margins feathery; corolla papilionaceous, white or bluish-purplish; banner 1/6 to 1/4 inch long; wings and keel half as long as banner; stamens 9 or 10.

Fruit

Pod, 1/10 inch long, papery, 1-seeded; seed shiny, smooth, brown.

Ecology

Habitat

Roadsides, stream and lake margins, field borders, open woods, occasionally prairie ravines; disturbed alluvial soils.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Forage Value

Livestock will eat foxtail dalea, but it has limited forage value.

Additional Notes