Dalea aurea Nutt., golden dalea, pussy–foot dalea. Perennial herb, woody taprooted, not rosetted, several—many–stemmed at base, principal springtime branches spreading with terminal inflorescence, in range to 40 cm tall; shoots with only cauline leaves, on flowering axis with long internodes and unexpanded axillary shoots so appearing leafless above midplant, strigose and short–strigose with upward–pointing hairs, inconspicuously gland–dotted.
Stems initially low–ridged, to 2 mm diameter (aboveground), with 3 ridges descending from each leaf, light yellow–green, tough, flexible, short–strigose.
Leaves helically alternate, pinnately–odd–(1—2–)3– or 5(7)–foliolate with lateral leaflets in pairs, petiolate with pulvinus, with stipules; stipules 2, attached at base of pulvinus, acuminate and winglike, ± 1.5 mm long, short–hairy, often red at tip; petiole pulvinus 1 mm long, inconspicuous or enlarged, above pulvinus somewhat flat to faintly channeled on upper side, 2.5—13 mm long, strigose, gland–dotted on lower side; rachis faintly channeled, axis between pairs of leaflets 2—5 mm long, strigose, gland–dotted on lower side; petiolules pulvinus with constriction at base, 0.3—0.8 mm, white, with hairs; blades of leaflets obovate or oblanceolate to oblong, 1.3—1.4 × 0.8—4.5 mm, terminal > lateral leaflets, folded upward from midrib, tapered at base, entire, obtuse to rounded at tip, with only midrib visible, strigose with long hairs, glands inconspicuous on lower surface.
Inflorescence headlike spike, terminal, conic in fruit ± cylindric, in fruit to 60 × 11—13.5 mm, flowers helically alternate and tightly packed, bracteate, on head densely white villous (sericeous); peduncle stemlike, here treated as short above the uppermost cauline leaf, if treated as long then = to 300 mm long with diminutive 1—2–foliolate leaves on a strigose axis having upward–pointing hairs; bract subtending spike absent; rachis densely villous between tightly packed flowers; bractlet subtending flower cupped, the lowest series keeled–ovate, others obovate rounded on back, 3—5.5 × 1.6—2.5 mm, cream–colored with red point at tip, outer (lower) surface densely white villous with hairs 1—1.5+ mm long, inner (upper) surface glabrous, persistent.
Flower bisexual, bilateral, pealike (papilionaceous), 2—3 mm across (= calyx; corolla folded together), 10—12 mm long; receptacle lacking obvious nectary; calyx 5–lobed, 6.5—7 mm long not increasing in fruit, densely white villous; tube funnel–shaped, to midpoint, whitish but cream–colored approaching lobes, 10–veined, inner surface glabrous and gland–dotted with scattered glands; lobes subequal, acuminate with stiff short point at tip, yellowish with red tip, densely villous on both surfaces; petals 5, 4 attached to filament sheet, clawed; banner arising from receptacle, claw cupped, 3 mm long, pale green aging greenish white or colorless, limb strongly folded, inverted heart–shaped, ca. 3 × 3.5 mm, bright yellow, minutely gland–dotted on lower surface near claw, tip ca. 5.5 mm from base of flower; wings 2, attached on filament sheet ca. 2.5 from base, claws flat, 1 mm long, in bud pale green aging white, limbs appressed to keel, ovate truncate at base, ca. 3 × 1.5 mm, bright yellow, tips ca. 8.5 mm from base of flower; keel of 2 petals partially fused on lower edge of limbs from midpoint to near tip, arising on filament sheet 1 mm above wings, claws flat, 1—2 mm long, colorless tissue with yellow veins, limbs somewhat hatchet–shaped with basal, backward–pointing lobe 0.5 mm long, 4.5—6 × 2—2.5 mm, bright yellow, not gland–dotted; stamens 10, fused as cupped sheet; filament sheet ca. 8 mm long having free portion of 5 short filaments alternating with 5 longer filaments, 1—2.2 mm long (short filaments) and 2—3.2 mm long (long filaments), in bud pale yellow–green aging colorless; anthers 0.6—0.65 mm long (short filaments) and 0.8—0.85 mm (long filaments), orange–yellow, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen orange–yellow; pistil 1, 10.5—12 mm long, in bud tip of curved style exserted from corolla; ovary superior, fusiform compressed side–to–side, ca. 2 × 1 mm, green, glands obscure, long–villous above midpoint, 1–chambered with 1 ovule; style cylindric, pale green, sparsely villous on lower side to midpoint and strongly curved upward above midpoint, with minute terminal stigma.
Fruit pod (legume), abscised with calyx, indehiscent, 1–seeded, kidney–shaped to hatchet–shaped, ca. 4 × 2 mm + beak (style) to 1.5 mm long, glabrous at base but mostly densely villous.
Seed somewhat kidney–shaped, ca. 2 × 1.8 × 1 mm, olive to brown, smooth.
A. C. Gibson