Dalea searlsiae
Searls' prairie clover
Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Searls' prairie clover is a California native perennial found in the White and Inyo Mountains and desert mountains in juniper and sagebrush scrub on slopes and bluffs at elevations of 1,200 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces delicate lilac-pink to rose-purple flowers in dense, narrow oblong clusters. Growing with clustered ascending stems 30 to 50 centimeters tall, it forms compact clumps with an elegant structure. Its leaves are composed of 5 to 7 obovate to oblong leaflets, each 7 to 16 millimeters long, creating a fine, delicate foliage pattern. The plant's flowers feature a distinctive calyx 3.5 to 4.5 millimeters long, with a banner petal 5 to 7 millimeters in size.
Habitat: Juniper/sagebrush scrub, slopes, bluffs
Bloom period: May-Jun
Elevation: 1200-2000 m
Bioregions: W&I, DMtns
California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.