Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea)

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Purple Prairie Clover is beloved by pollinators, attracting many different native bees, small butterflies, and skippers (illinoiswildflower.info). It is also the host plant for a number of specialist cellophane bees and Perdita perpallida (Holm, 2017). On top of that, Purple Prairie Clover is recommended as a preferred pollinator plant by the Xerces Society (Xerces.org). This is such a great bee plant to have on the landscape. Purple Prairie Clover is presumed extirpated in Michigan, though data may not reflect true distribution since much of the state has not been thoroughly surveyed (mnfi.anr.msu.edu).

Photo credit: Matt Lavin

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Purple Prairie Clover is beloved by pollinators, attracting many different native bees, small butterflies, and skippers (illinoiswildflower.info). It is also the host plant for a number of specialist cellophane bees and Perdita perpallida (Holm, 2017). On top of that, Purple Prairie Clover is recommended as a preferred pollinator plant by the Xerces Society (Xerces.org). This is such a great bee plant to have on the landscape. Purple Prairie Clover is presumed extirpated in Michigan, though data may not reflect true distribution since much of the state has not been thoroughly surveyed (mnfi.anr.msu.edu).

Photo credit: Matt Lavin

Life Cycle: Perennial

Sun Exposure: Full, Partial shade

Soil Moisture: Medium-Dry

Height: 2 feet

Plant Spacing: 18-24 inches

Bloom Time: July-September

Bloom Color: Purple

Advantages: Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Deer Resistant, Great landscaping plant

Host Plant: Southern Dogface Butterfly

Species of Concern: State Status: Presumed extirpated (legally 'threatened' if rediscovered). State Rank: Presumed extirpated (mnfi.anr.msu.edu).

Specialist Bees: Cellophane Bees, Colletes aberrans, C. albescens, C. robertsonii, C. sussanae, C. wilmattae, and Perdita perpallida (Holm, 2017)

Beneficial Insects: Syrphid Flies

Complementary Plants: Butterfly Milkweed, Whorled Milkweed, Mountain Mint, Nodding Wild Onion, Wild Petunia, Bee Balm, False Sunflower, Culver’s Root

Resource: Holm, Heather. Bees: An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide. Pollination Press, 2017

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