Dalea emarginata

A view from above

An especially pretty plant, Wedgeleaf Prairie Clover (Dalea emarginata) thrives primarily along Texas beaches and coastal dune grasslands, although it can be found inland as far north as Llano and Travis counties. Along the coast, it creeps into Louisiana, although its presence there is limited to an area between Holly Beach and Johnson’s Bayou in Cameron Parish.

The genus name — Dalea — pays tribute to Samuel Dale (1659-1739), an English botanist and physician who maintained a medical practice in Essex. The species name — emarginata — fooled me at first. I assumed it referred to wavy margins on the leaf, but in fact ’emarginate’ refers to a notch at the tip of a leaf.

As the low-growing, long-stemmed clusters of flowers fan out across the dunes, some remain upright, displaying concentric rings of color as they develop. Others begin to nod, creating graceful arcs against the sand.

I first encountered Dalea emarginata two years ago, in the same spot where I found these flowers: the Kelly Hamby Nature Trail on Follet’s Island, a thirteen mile long, Gulf-facing barrier island in Brazoria County. On that occasion, I found one plant hosting a visitor. The tiny grasshopper amused me greatly: so much so that I decided to let him share the spotlight one more time.

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Wedgeleaf prairie clover (Dalea emarginata) with grasshopper

I would have expected to find a bee buzzing around this pretty clover; even a butterfly, beetle, or fly would have seemed reasonable.

But the grasshopper surprised me, particularly since his flowery, less than two-inch long perch emphasized the creature’s own small size. For all his wonderful complexity, the tiny creature was the smallest grasshopper I’d ever seen.

Even as I admired the grasshopper, I found myself intrigued by the plant on which I’d found him. The low-growing, long-stemmed clusters of flowers fanning out across the dunes of a Brazoria County beach reminded me of the plant known as frogfruit, despite some obvious differences.

Eventually, thanks to a website known as the Gulf Coast Vascular Plant Gallery, I found the flower. Exploring further, I learned this native thrives primarily along Gulf beaches and coastal dune grasslands in Texas. In Louisiana, where its presence has been limited to the area between Holly Beach and Johnson’s Bayou in Cameron Parish, it’s considered rare.

Even here in Texas it seems to be uncommon, or at least little-reported. In yet another first, I found no photos of the plant on the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center site. A few reports have been recorded at iNaturalist, but even there not a single wedgeleaf prairie clover appears with a grasshopper as a companion.