Black Dalea
Dalea frutescens
A fine-textured desert legume that covers itself in rich purple flower spikes in fall, alive with bees. A nitrogen-fixer and butterfly host that thrives on rocky, alkaline ground.
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Type
- shrub
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 2–4 ft
- Spacing
- 2–4 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry
- Soil pH
- acidic, alkaline
- Bloom
- July, August, September, October
- Bloom colors
- purple
- Wildlife value
- butterflies, larval host, pollinators
- Landscape uses
- foundation
- Native states
- NM, OK, TX
Related native plants
More Dalea species
- Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea)
- White Prairie Clover (Dalea candida)
- Feather Dalea (Dalea formosa)
- Silky Prairie Clover (Dalea villosa)
- Trailing Indigo Bush (Dalea greggii)