Black Dalea

Dalea frutescens

About the Plant

Black dalea is a small, evergreen shrub native to Texas, New Mexico, and northeast Mexico. Though it blooms only in the fall, it is a great addition to a landscape. It stays small (to 3 feet by 3-4 feet after several years), needs extra water only during the hot summer months, and produces only small amounts of liter. Combine it with plants with yellow (such as desert marigold or bahia) or red flowers (such as California fuscia or autumn sage) for a classic look.

Black dalea needs little maintenance. The forms stays naturally tight and small, so pruning is needed only occasionally and only if the plant gets leggy (prune in spring, can be cut back by half). The seed pods are small, with only one seed. They do not need to be cut off, or even raked up, to maintain an attractive appearance.

If the plant is irrigated, seeds of other plants may germinate under the foliage and grow up into it. These plants should be removed. It is natural for this plant to lose some, even most, of its leaves in winter. Significant leaf loss in summer suggests irrigation is needed. Black dalea does best in full sun and well-drained soil.

Notes:

  • At garden centers, you may see this plant as Sierra Negra™.
  • Rabbits may nibble on the thin stems.

Wildlife value: An exceptional bee plant. Butterflies may also visit the flowers. Some daleas are larval plants for the Southern Dogface Butterfly.

More Information

Weekly Plant on daleas

Horticultural information from Texas A&M

Horticultural information from ASU

Map of distribution in US (yellow indicates plant is rare)

In books:

Native Plants for Southwestern Landscapes by Judy Mielke, page 118.

Perennials for the Southwest by Mary Irish, page 124.

ID Characteristics

This plant is in the Fabaceae - the pea family.
Black dalea is a small shrub with thin, woody stems. It grows just a bit each year, eventually reaching a height of about 3 feet, with a slightly greater width. It has a naturally rounded, even form that stays attractive for many years. The plants in the photo above are in their 6th season and have not been pruned.
Black dalea has odd-pinnately compound, alternate leaves with 9-19 leaflets. The leaves may be up to an inch long, with each leaflet up to 1/4 inch long (may be smaller if plant is not on irrigation; leaves have fewer leaflets near the tips of branches), each a fairly deep green. The stems are thin. Those at the base of a 4-year old plant (4 years after planting) were 3/16 inch wide; the stems supporting the flower clusters were only 1/16 inch wide.
Like all dalea, black dalea has many oil glands, on the leaves (circular glands)  and on the sepals that enclose the flower petals (oval glands, sometimes red). Rubbing a leaf releases a pleasant, citrusy scent.
Black dalea blooms in late summer/early fall (starting in our area usually in late September). The plant is in "full bloom", covered with showy flowers, for several weeks, with lighter bloom both before and after. The flowers are terminal and held on short, 1 inch spikes, with flowering beginning at the base of the cluster. Four of the petals are red-purple; the upper petal (banner) is mostly white with a greenish-yellow eye (see also photo under "wildlife value" in "About the Plant"). Each flower is about 3/8 inch long and 1/4 inch high. Only 5 or 6 flowers in each cluster are open at the same time.
The spent flowers are not ornamental, but the cluster is small and it is usually not worth the effort to cut them off. The seed pod is also small, about 1/8 inch long and contains only one seed.