Rounded, unarmed shrubs reach 3 feet tall and wide; leaves fall off early leaving a dense tangle of white-hairy, wiry branches covered with amber gland dots. Note that early rains and summer monsoons trigger an explosion of small, deep-blue to purple, pea-type flowers.

FLOWERS: June–September. Small rounded clusters on branch tips; pea-type flowers 3/8 inch long (8–10 mm), with 1 upright, lobed banner petal with a white spot, 2 side wins, and 2 center keel-shaped petals; sepals 5, white-hairy. Pods hairy, glandular, 3/16 inch long (4 mm).

LEAVES: Alternate, few, early summer deciduous. Blades 3/16–3/4 inch long (5–20 mm) by 1/16 inch wide (2 mm); margin entire with rows of dark glands.

HABITAT: Sandy washes, flats, hills; desert grasslands and scrub.

ELEVATION: 3,500–5,500 feet (1067–1676 m).

RANGE: NM; rare AZ, TX.

SIMILAR SPECIES: The sandy habitat, wiry, tangled stems, and purple, pea-type flowers distinguish this shrub.

NM COUNTIES: Widespread and scattered across central and western NM in low-elevation, desert habitats: Bernalillo, Cibola, Dona Ana, Grant, Lincoln, Luna, Otero, San Juan, Sandoval, Sierra, Socorro, Torrance, Valencia.