Common Name: White Prairie Clover

General Information

Dalea candida is a herbaceous perennial plant producing a small clump of stems 50 - 100cm tall from a thick taproot. The stems tend to be unbranched near the base, with a few upright branches near the top[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It can be used in restoration projects for restoring native prairies.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Central and southern N. America - Alberta to Ontario, south to Arizona, northern Mexico, Texas and Georgia

Habitat

Rich prairies, woodland glades, roadsides and along railroads; at elevations mainly below 450 metres[]. Dry desert and alluvial soils; at elevations up to 2,000 metres[, ]. Prairies and open woods on sandy, clayey and rocky soils[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.70 m
Pollinators	Bees, Butterflies, Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Dalea candida is a very cold hardy plant, able to tolerate winter temperatures below -20°c. It grows in areas where the mean annual rainfall is around 250 - 450mm[].
Requires a well-drained soil in full sun[]. A deep-rooted plant, it prefers a sandy loam with added leaf mould and is only occasionally found on clay soils in the wild[, ]. This species is well-suited to informal and naturalistic plantings, especially as part of a collection of native species[].
The stems, leaves and flowers are dotted with glands, making the plant look blistered[].
Rabbits are very fond of this plant and will often eat it in preference to other species nearby. They will often damage new plantings[].
This species is closely related to Dalea multiflora and sometimes hybridizes with it where their ranges overlap[].
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[].

Edible Uses

Root - raw or chewed for its pleasant sweet flavour[, , , ]. Eaten as a delicacy by children[].

A tea-like beverage is made from the dried leaves[, , , ].

Medicinal

The roots have been chewed to bring relief from the pain of toothaches etc[].

A compound of the plant is used to treat abdomen pain caused by colds and loose bowels[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is sometimes found as a pioneering species on disturbed shallow soils or gravels, and can be used as a component in the reclamation of drastically disturbed lands, in range renovation and prairie restoration projects. It is also a potentially useful plant for roadside and rest area beautification, park plantings and recreational garden natural area plantings[].

Other Uses

The tough stems can be bundled together to make a broom for sweeping the floor[].

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[].