Dalea mollissima

Downy dalea

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Downy dalea is a California native perennial found in desert regions in desert flats and washes at elevations below 900 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces white or lavender-tinged flowers in compact ovoid clusters approximately 14 to 16 millimeters wide. Growing with low-spreading stems 0.5 to 3.5 decimeters tall that form mat-like clusters, it has a notably hairy appearance. Its leaves feature 8 to 14 leaflets, each 3 to 10 millimeters long, with rounded to obovate-oblong shapes that are often slightly folded or wavy. The plant's delicate flowers have shaggy-hairy calyx lobes that are longer than the flower tube, giving it a distinctive soft and intricate texture.

Habitat: Common. Desert flats, washes

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 900 m

Bioregions: D

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, San Diego, Inyo, Orange

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.