VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Dalea purpurea | Purple Prairie Clover 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Purple prairie clover is excellent forage for livestock and wildlife and
may be an important component of upland prairie hay [30,31].


PALATABILITY : 
Purple prairie clover is palatable to livestock as well as to
white-tailed deer and wild turkey [6].  Palatability of purple prairie
clover in two western states has been rated as follows [8]:

                CO    ND
cattle        good   fair
sheep         good   good
horses        fair   fair   


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Purple prairie clover is highly nutritious.  It has a high protein
content, particularly in new growth [6].  Crude and digestible protein
content of purple prairie clover are as follows [21]:

crude protein                 14.1 %
digestible protein - cattle    9.9 %
                     goats     9.7 %
                     horses    9.5 %
                     rabbits   9.6 %
                     sheep    10.1 %


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Purple prairie clover is used in grass and forb seed mixtures for
stabilization of disturbed sites such as mine spoils, road cuts, and
overgrazed rangelands [4,27,28].  It is valuable for erosion control due
to its deep, fibrous, branching root system.  It is often seeded with
grass mixtures because of its nitrogen-fixing ability [5].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
American Indians ate fresh and boiled purple prairie clover leaves.
Bruised leaves were steeped in water and applied to open wounds.  The
Ponca chewed the leaves for their flavor and made tea from the leaves,
and the Pawnee used the stems to make brooms [12,31].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Purple prairie clover decreases in response to grazing [4,26].  The
terminal growing points are within reach of the grazing animals soon
after growth begins and are thus quite susceptible to injury by grazing
or mowing [9].

Survival and growth of purple prairie clover seedlings is decreased in
the presence of allelopathic species such as western ragweed (Ambrosia
psilostachya), common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album), and smooth
brome (Bromus inermis) [24].

Related categories for Species: Dalea purpurea | Purple Prairie Clover