Dalea formosa

Dalea formosa

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Dalea
Species:
D. formosa
Binomial name
Dalea formosa
Synonyms[2]
  • Parosela formosa (Torr.) Vail

Dalea formosa is a semi-evergreen[1] species of flowering plant in the genus Dalea, known by the common names feather dalea and featherplume;[3] it is named for the physician Samuel Dale.[4] The plant is native to the southern United States.[4] It is highly tolerant of heat, cold, and drought.[5][6] It is favored by honeybees; but of much less use to most wildlife, with the exception of rabbits and deer.[7][8] Unique to most plants,[Note 1] it blooms all year long (with the occurrence of monsoon rainfall)[9][10] and also has a long lifespan.[6]

References

  1. ^ NatureServe (2024). "Dalea formosa". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Dalea formosa Torr". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  3. ^ Southwest, The American. "Western USA wildflowers: Feather Peabush, Dalea Formosa". www.americansouthwest.net.
  4. ^ a b "SEINet Portal Network - Dalea formosa". swbiodiversity.org.
  5. ^ "Dalea formosa". Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin.
  6. ^ a b "USDA Plants Database". plants.usda.gov.
  7. ^ "Plants of Texas Rangelands » Feather Dalea". rangeplants.tamu.edu.
  8. ^ Xerces Society. Native plants for pollinators and beneficial insects: Southwest - Sonoran Desert Retrieved July 27, 2023
  9. ^ "Blue Wildflowers - Big Bend National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov.
  10. ^ "Dalea formosa, Indigobush, Southwest Desert Flora".

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ Generally, plants expend considerable energy to bloom and that decreases their lifespan or the duration of their bloom, or both; especially in hot regions. Blooming flowers expend considerable energy through nectar production, water loss via transpiration, and respiration of flower parts (Schoen & Ashman, 1994). “Interestingly, flower lifespan is negatively correlated with temperature; the hotter the environment where they bloom, the shorter the period a plant retains them. The phenomenon has been known for a long time,” comments Shoko Sakai, author of the present study.