Dalea purpurea
Dalea purpurea
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Dalea purpurea is a very cold-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to below -20°c. It grows best in regions with a mean annual rainfall in the range 400 - 500mm, but can tolerate 300mm[1]. Requires a well-drained soil in full sun[2]. A deep-rooted plant, it prefers a sandy loam with added leaf mould[3]. It is found in the wild growing in soils ranging from clay loams to loamy sands, growing more vigorously on well drained sites and in moderately alkaline calcareous soils[1]. This species is well-suited to informal and naturalistic plantings, especially as part of a collection of native species[2]. Established plants are moderately drought tolerant[1]. The stems, leaves and flowers are dotted with glands, making the plant look blistered[2]. This species is closely related to Dalea compacta and sometimes hybridizes with it in the wild[4]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[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[2]. Seed stored cool and dry still has a 77% germination rate after 26 years[1]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Dalea+purpurea>
Pollinators
Bees, Butterflies
References
- [1]Plants Database — United States Department of Agriculture · http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet ↩︎An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
- [2]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.
- [3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
- [4]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
- [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.
- [6]Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas — Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J · Botanical Research Institute, Texas. · 1999 · http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm · ISBN 1-889878-01-4 ↩︎An excellent flora, which is also available on-line.
- [7]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.