''Dalea albiflora'', the whiteflower prairie clover or scruffy prairie clover, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

subshrub A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or dwarf shrub is a short shrub, and is a woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a related term. "Subshrub" is often used interchangeably with "bush".Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Der ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

of the subfamily

Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family. This subfamily is wide ...

in the pea family-(

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

). It is found in the

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

and Northwestern Mexico in the states of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

, and Chihuahua. Whiteflower prairie clover is a low-lying subshrub with horizontal spreading gray-green pinnate leaves. The flowers are vertical with multiple inflorescences; both flowers and leaves are extremely oily and

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...

ous, and leave

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

-like odors on any surface: hands, boots, etc.

Western Sonoran Desert specifics

In the western

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona ...

of southwest Arizona, scruffy prairie clover can be found throughout flatland

mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by ...

s. It is also found in mountainous regions, for example the

Muggins Mountains Wilderness The Muggins Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is located approximately east of Yuma, Arizona in the Muggins Mountains and adjacent to the agricultural ''Dome Valley'' and Gila River. The wilderness area ...

on south and southwest facing ridgelines and flats.

References

External links

Photo-High Res--(Close-up of Flower, and pinnate leaf)
- delange.org – ''"Arizona Wildflowers: cream to white"'' albiflora Flora of the Southwestern United States North American desert flora Flora of the Chihuahuan Desert Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Flora of Northwestern Mexico Flora of Arizona Flora of New Mexico Flora of Sonora Flora of Chihuahua (state) Taxa named by Asa Gray {{Faboideae-stub