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Plant Profile

Comanche Peak Prairie-clover (Dalea reverchonii)

Global Rank: G2 - Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Fabaceae
State: TX
Nature Serve ID: 140386
Lifeform: Subshrub, Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 06/25/2002

Description:

Comanche Peak prairie-clover is a low, spreading perennial, which appears as a dense, mat-forming rosette. Numerous thick spikes of rose-pink to magenta-purple flowers bloom in May, before other Dalea species, and continue through June (NatureServe 2016). Until recently, this elusive prairie-clover had been found only in a narrow band through three counties in north-central Texas. Julien Reverchon first collected this member of the pea family in 1882 from \\\"the rocky top of Comanche Peak\\\". Repeated surveys failed to re-locate that particular population (TPWD, 2003), until Spring of 2003 when a few plants were again found on Comanche Peak (Carr, personal communication.). In 2012, Taylor and O'Kennon (2013) conducted surveys for the species, expanding its known distribution to 8 counties and 69 sites.

Where is Comanche Peak Prairie-clover (Dalea reverchonii) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Shallow calcareous clay to sandy clay soils over limestone in grasslands or openings in post oak woodlands, often among sparse vegetation in barren exposed sites. Most known sites are underlain by WalnutLimestone, a Cretaceous formation. Dalea reverchonii is a calciphile, known to grow only on rocky limestone substrate Cretaceous in age. Mahler (1984) described the habitat as thin soil overlying limestone rock. Orzell (1987) noted that plants were found growing on a nearly flat Goodland Limestone (Cretaceous Age) Glade surrounded by shrub thickets (Orzell 5581, TEX). O'Kennon (2010) and Swadek and Burgess (2012) disagreed on the type of geology, noting that the species is restricted to Walnut Limestone glades. Much of the Walnut (Kwa) and Goodland (Kgl) limestones are mapped as undivided units (i.e. Kgw), possibly leading to the uncertainty in geology. Comanche Peak, the type locality for the species, is topped with Edwards Limestone (Ked). Dalea reverchonii has only been collected in limestone substrate on what have been termed limestone glades by Swadek and Burgess (2012). These glades consist of little to no soil overtopping limestone bedrock. Dalea reverchonii appears restricted to crevices in exposed limestone bedrock, very shallow soils over bedrock, or Walnut marl where the shell hash has been removed. The roots are embedded in the Walnut marl directly below the indurate Texigryphaea mucronata shell hash. The plant was rarely seen where vegetative cover is taller and denser, which seems to be associated with deeper soils overlying the limestone.

Distribution:

This species is endemic to north-central Texas in the Fort Worth Prairie and Lampasas Cut Plain level III Ecoregions in Hood, Parker, Wise, Bosque, Erath, Johnson, Somervell, and Tarrant counties (Taylor & O'Kennon 2013).

States & Provinces:

Comanche Peak Prairie-clover can be found in Texas

Which CPC Partners conserve Comanche Peak Prairie-clover (Dalea reverchonii)?

Botanical Research Institute of Texas / Fort Worth Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/09/17

National Laboratory for Genetic Resource Preservation (USDA-ARS)

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 12/09/21

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

Katie Heineman

12/09/2021

The National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation holds the safety duplication seed lots of two 2019 Parker County, Texas collections of Dalea revechonii submitted by BRIT under the CPC Material Transfer Research Agreement.

Katie Heineman

12/09/2021

The Botanical Research Institute of Texas collected two accessions of this species from populations in Parker County, Texas in June 2019.

Katie Heineman

12/09/2021

As of 2021, the Botanical Research Institute of Texas holds at least two accessions of this species in orthodox seed collection at their facility.

Kim Taylor

05/31/2017

Several threats exist to Dalea reverchonii including road widening, land development, spread of non-native plants, and livestock grazing. Perhaps the most severe threat is that of grazing by livestock. Other than the populations concentrated in Weatherfor

Kim Taylor

05/31/2017

The Nature Conservancy conducted a survey during the Spring of 2003 and now reports 35 known populations in the Hood/Parker/Wise Counties area, including the re-location of the original population (now ~6 plants) on Comanche Peak (Carr, personal communication.). Taylor and O'Kennon (2013) conducted a survey in 2012 where they identified 33 new populations in five additional counties, bringing the total population number to 69 sites. Population numbers range from a single plant to over 1000 plants.

Kim Taylor

05/31/2017

Survey for more populations, Monitor populations, Place some populations under protection, More managing agency awareness at field level

05/31/2017

Seed banking, Genetics testing, Propagation studies, Reproductive ecology

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Known from about 20 occurrences within a very small geographic area in northcentral Texas. Extirpated from Comanche Peak.