Dalea pogonathera
PERENNIAL HERB.  Erect, branching at the base from a long, bright yellow taproot.  Plants are about 30 cm tall, with very smooth, bluish green stems and leaves.  Plant smells like licorice when bruised.  Stems are tough. Elongate fringed calyces give the compact flowerheads a gray fuzzy look and silky feel.  Flowers are bright purple to magenta.  Blooms in April and again after summer rains; summer flowers may be lighter in color or even white.  Leaves are pinnate, usually with seven leaflets, with prominent round glandular spots.  Fairly common on roadsides, in small washes, and other flat, sunny, gravelly areas that get some runoff.
FAMILY:  Fabaceae (Pea Family)