Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Herbaceous perennials, to 50 cm tall, stems clustered and ascending, herbage glabrous and gland-dotted.

Leaves: Alternate, generally odd-1-pinnate, with 5-7 leaflets, obovate to oblong, 10-16 mm long, stipules inconspicuous, thread-like or glandular

Flowers: Conspicuous, lilac-pink to rose-purple with exserted stamens and yellow anthers, banner petals banner 5-7 mm long, arising from the receptacle, the other petals 3-5 mm long and attached at the side or top of the filament column, calyx tube 3.5-4.5 mm long, with a firm tube recessed or slit on upper side, 10-ribbed with puberulent surfaces, stamens 5, filaments fused, ovules 2, inflorescences (except corollas) 8-12 mm wide, oblong or narrowly oblong, dense, axis visible between fruits.

Fruits: Legumes, indehiscent, included in or exserted from the calyx. Seeds 1 per legume.

Ecology: Found on slopes, bluffs, and in juniper/sagebrush scrub communities, from 4,000-6,500 ft (1219-1981 m); flowering May-June.

Distribution: Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah.

Notes: This species can become somewhat large and bushy under favorable circumstances, look to the pubescent columnar or rounded inflorescences tightly packed with bright purple to pink flowers with exserted stamens with bright yellow anthers to help identify this species. Look for this plant in Arizona in Mohave, Coconino, and Yavapai counties.

Ethnobotany: Specific uses for this species are unknown, but other species in the genus have uses; species used for food.

Etymology: Dalea is named after Samuel Dale (1659-1739), an English physician, botanist and botanical collector, and gardener who was the author of several botanical works and a treatise on medicinal plants, and searlsiae is named after Fanny Searls (1851-1939), wife of Henry Gradle.

Synonyms: Kuhnistera searlsiae, Petalostemon searlsiae

Editor: LCrumbacher2012