Feather Plume
Feather Dalea
Dalea formosa
Pen & ink from live specimen.
SHRUB: A weakly woody shrub, often intricately branched, reaching to
1 m or more in height.
FLOWERS: Attractive, pea-like, purple-lavender flowers with a yellow hood
petal. The
sepals are long and adorned with long silky trichomes. This combined with
gracefully arching twigs gives the blooming plant a striking appearance. Blooming in response to rainfall esp. late summer and fall.
RANGE: Eastern edge of the Sonoran Desert and ranging more abundantly in
the Chihuahuan Desert at elevations mostly well above 600 m
elevation.
LEAVES: Compound leaves have up to a dozen small leaflets. Crushed foliage
has strong terpene aroma.
FRUIT:The small, hirsute pods usu. contain only a single bean-seed.
UNARMED.