Plant Guide: Searls' prairie clover (Dalea searlsiae [A. Gray] Barneby)

Loren St. John; Derek Tilley; Dan Ogle; Doug Johnson; Shaun Bushman

Treesearch

Plant Guide: Searls' prairie clover (Dalea searlsiae [A. Gray] Barneby)

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Loren St. John, Derek Tilley, Dan Ogle, Doug Johnson, Shaun Bushman

Year:

2011

Type:

Miscellaneous Publication

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

Aberdeen, ID: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Aberdeen Plant Materials Center. 3 p.

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Download (PDF 177 KB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/41961.pdf

Abstract

Plants of Searls' prairie clover are grazed by many animals including rabbits, deer, sheep and cattle. This legume forms a symbiotic association with soil bacteria (Rhizobium spp.) that allows fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, which can enhance forage nitrogen content for wildlife and livestock. Flowers are visited by pollinators, primarily bees, during bloom from June-July. Searls' prairie clover may have been more widely spread than its current distribution in the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau and the northern Mojave Desert prior to the arrival of European settlers. The decline may be due to overgrazing. Searls' prairie clover can be used to diversify seeding mixtures for rangeland revegetation as well as for pollinator habitat enhancement, home landscaping and roadside planting.

Keywords

Searls' prairie clover, Dalea searlsiae, Petalostemon searlsiae, Kuhnistera searlsiae

Citation

St. John, Loren; Tilley, Derek; Ogle, Dan; Johnson, Doug; Bushman, Shaun. 2011. Plant Guide: Searls' prairie clover (Dalea searlsiae [A. Gray] Barneby). Aberdeen, ID: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Aberdeen Plant Materials Center. 3 p.