Fabaceae : Dalea candida

Dalea candida is a perennial herb with 1-several erect stems, simple or branching from above, growing from a caudex attached to a thick taproot, each stem 30 to 100 cm in height. The alternate, compound odd-pinnate, leaves are 1.5-6 cm long, with a short petiole, and 5-13 narrow, gland-dotted, light green leaflets, each 5-35 mm long. The inflorescence is a loose to dense cylindrical spike of flowers, 1.5-7.5 cm long, at the tip of each stem or stem branch. Each flower has a green calyx tube 1.9-2.7 mm long with teeth 0.6-1.8 mm long. The papilionaceous corollas have white clawed (narrowed at the base) petals that measure above the claws: banner 4-5.7 mm long, the wings and keel 3.2-5.3 mm long. The flowers at the base open first and the upper ones bloom later. The fruit is a green oval legume pod, 2.5-4.5 mm long, containing one seed. White prairie clover blooms from May to August on prairies, open woodlands and roadsides throughout South Dakota.