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Fabaceae FAMILY

Dalea compacta

Dalea compacta

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

This species is closely related to Dalea purpurea and sometimes hybridizes with it in the wild[1]. Although many species within the family Fabaceae have a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria, this species is said to be devoid of such a relationship and therefore does not fix atmospheric nitrogen[2].

Propagation

Seed - sow in early spring in a greenhouse. The seed has a hard seedcoat and benefits from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer[3]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Dalea+compacta>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Daleae Imagines; An Illustrated Revision of ERRAZURIZIA Philippi, PSOROTHAMNUS Rydberg, MARINA Liebmann, and DALEA L — Barneby R.C. · The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York · 1977 · ISBN 0-89327-001-6 ↩︎A very detailed treatment of the genera Errazurizia, Psorothamnus, Marina and Dalea
  2. [2]Nodulation Plants in GRIN Taxonomy — United States Department of Agriculture · http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxnodul.pl?language=en ↩︎An online database listing plants that have either positive or negative reports on root and stem nodulation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada — Britton. N. L. Brown. A. · Dover Publications. New York. · 1970 · ISBN 0-486-22642-5 ↩︎Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.
  5. [5]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.