Gentry's Indigobush / Center For Plant Conservation
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Plant Profile

Gentry's Indigobush (Dalea tentaculoides)

  • Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
  • Legal Status: N/A
  • Family: Fabaceae
  • State: AZ
  • Nature Serve ID: 142353
  • Lifeform: Subshrub
  • Date Inducted in National Collection: 03/05/1993
Description:

Dalea tentaculoides is a shrub with numerous stems. The compound leaves have 9-17 leaflets, and the small, pea-like flowers are rose-purple in color. The plant flowers in April, through June, and sometimes again in September-October. It is very similar in appearance to at least three other Daleas growing in the same canyon.

Where is Gentry's Indigobush (Dalea tentaculoides) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Dalea tentaculoides grows in canyons, and is found at elevations ranging from 3600-4400 ft., associated with Oak-juniper woodland (Barneby 1977). Because it grows along flood plains along streams, plants are subject to being 'scoured out' by seasonal flooding.

Distribution:

The species is found in several locations in Santa Cruz and Pima Counties in Arizona (USFWS 1980). Two populations are found on the Tohono O'odam Reservation. Of several sites that were listed on the

States & Provinces:

Gentry's Indigobush can be found in Arizona

Which CPC Partners conserve Gentry's Indigobush (Dalea tentaculoides)?

  • Desert Botanical Garden

    Not Sponsored
    Conservation Actions
    Assigned 06/09/17
    • 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

    • 09/08/2020
      • Orthodox Seed Banking

    Sixty seeds of Dalea tentaculoides are currently held in the seed vault at Desert Botanical Garden. Additional seeds need to be collected before baseline germination tests can be conducted. The resulting plants need to be grown to maturity, producing flowering material that can be used to make herbarium specimens for further taxonomic evaluation of the validity of the species. Additionally, seed and herbarium specimen collections of all the Daleas growing with D. tentaculoides should be made for the same reason. Desert Botanical Garden will retain plants resulting from germination tests for production of seed in cultivation.

    • 09/08/2020
      • Seed Collection

    Sixty seeds of Dalea tentaculoides are currently held in the seed vault at Desert Botanical Garden. Additional seeds need to be collected before baseline germination tests can be conducted. The resulting plants need to be grown to maturity, producing flowering material that can be used to make herbarium specimens for further taxonomic evaluation of the validity of the species. Additionally, seed and herbarium specimen collections of all the Daleas growing with D. tentaculoides should be made for the same reason. Desert Botanical Garden will retain plants resulting from germination tests for production of seed in cultivation.

    Nature Serve Biotics
    • 05/02/2017

    The historic range of this species includes the Coyote and Baboquivari mountains in Pima County, Arizona. There is one known population in Arizona, located in the Pajarito Mountains of Santa Cruz County, and several sites in Sonora, Mexico. Threats include seasonal flooding, consumption by livestock, watershed degradation due to overgrazing, and trampling by recreationists and livestock

    Kathleen C. Rice
    • 01/01/2010

    Major threats include seasonal flooding, limited range, habitat degradation due to grazing by livestock, consumption by livestock, and trampling by people and livestock (Toolin 1982, 1986, Gori et al. 1992).

    Kathleen C. Rice
    • 01/01/2010

    Known to occur in only a few sites, one of which is Sycamore Canyon, Arizona, near Nogales. Less than 12 individuals were observed during the last site visit, but up to 3 dozen have been reportedly seen in that canyon (USFWS 1998).

    Kathleen C. Rice
    • 01/01/2010

    Sixty seeds of Dalea tentaculoides are currently held in the seed vault at Desert Botanical Garden. Additional seeds need to be collected before baseline germination tests can be conducted. The resulting plants need to be grown to maturity, producing flowering material that can be used to make herbarium specimens for further taxonomic evaluation of the validity of the species. Additionally, seed and herbarium specimen collections of all the Daleas growing with D. tentaculoides should be made for the same reason. Desert Botanical Garden will retain plants resulting from germination tests for production of seed in cultivation.

    Kathleen C. Rice
    • 01/01/2010

    Plants are being annually surveyed by Nature Conservancy staff (Falk and Warren 1994).

    Kathleen C. Rice
    • 01/01/2010

    Exploration for other populations in nearby canyons is needed. A quantitative assessment of reproductive potential would assist land managers as to the degree of aggressiveness needed to conserve the species. Accompanying studies would include molecular analysis, pollination biology, seed germination, and seed viability tests.

    Kathleen C. Rice
    • 01/01/2010

    Seeds need to be collected to augment the seedbank at DBG, since the existence of current plants is precarious.

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    Nomenclature
    Taxon Dalea tentaculoides
    Authority H.S. Gentry
    Family Fabaceae
    CPC Number 1356
    ITIS 26648
    USDA DATE4
    Duration Perennial
    Common Names Gentry's Indigobush | Gentry's indigo bush
    Associated Scientific Names Dalea tentaculoides
    Distribution The species is found in several locations in Santa Cruz and Pima Counties in Arizona (USFWS 1980). Two populations are found on the Tohono O'odam Reservation. Of several sites that were listed on the
    State Rank
    State State Rank
    Arizona S1
    Ecological Relationships

    Photos

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