Purple Prairie Clover
Dalea purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known as purple prairie clover. Native to central North America, purple prairie clover is a relatively common member of the Great Plains and prairie ecosystems.
It blooms in the summer with dense spikes of bright purple flowers that attract many species of insects.
This plant is adapted to a habitat with periodic wildfires. In some areas, it depends on fire to clear encroaching woody vegetation, as it cannot tolerate shade.
The nectar and pollen attract many bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, and skippers. Several plasterer bees are specialist pollinators of it and other insects eat the seeds and leaves. It is a larval host to the southern dogface.
Purple prairie clover provides food for a number of animals, such as pronghorn. It also grows in cultivated fields and becomes included in hay for livestock. It is nutritious and is "considered one of the most important legumes in native grasslands on the Great Plains."
It also had a number of uses for Native Americans. The leaves are edible and good for making tea and medicines, and the roots are palatable when chewed. The stems were used as brooms by the Pawnee people.