Purple Prairie Clover

Notes:

Purple prairie clover is a native, warm-season, perennial legume. The plant has one to many stems that grow up to 2.5 feet long from a woody, stout taproot that branches near the surface. The leaves are about one inch long and very narrow. They alternate and have an average of five leaflets per pinnate compound. The flowers appear on the end of the stems and have cylindrical floral spikes about two inches long. The flowers open beginning at the base of the flower head and progress up to the tip. Seed is produced in a seed pod about ½ inch long. The seed pod will contain between one to two seed each. Purple prairie clover blooms from April to June with the seed maturing from mid July to late August.