Lespedeza

lespedeza (lĕs'pədē`zə) or bush clover, any plant of the genus Lespedeza, leguminous herbs or undershrubs of the family Leguminosae (pulse family); native to North America, Asia, and Australia. Lespedezas are valuable for hay and pasturage and, in conservation, for game cover and erosion control. They are hot weather plants that grow well in poor soils. The Asian species, e.g., the common lespedeza, or Japanese clover (L. striata), are the ones usually cultivated, and several have been naturalized in the SE United States. Lespedeza is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Leguminosae.

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lespedeza [‚les·pə′dē·zə]

(botany)

Any of various legumes of the genusLespedezahaving trifoliate leaves, small purple pea-shaped blossoms, and one seed per pod.

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Lespedeza 

a genus of plants of the family Leguminosae. They are perennial and, less often, annual grasses, subshrubs, or shrubs. The leaves are usually ternate. The flowers, which are purple, pink, or white, are sometimes apetalous and cleistogamous; they are in axillary racemes and, more rarely, in paniculate inflorescences. The pod is small, lenticular, with a single seed. There are approximately 100 species, distributed in the Himalayas, East and South Asia, North America, and Australia. Seven species are found in the USSR, in the southern Far East, and in parts of Eastern Siberia. Bicolor lespedeza (Lespedeza bicolor), a shrub measuring 1–1.5 m high, is nectar-bearing and is used to combat erosion. Japanese deer feed on bicolor lespedeza. Korean lespedeza (L. stipulacea) is a perennial silage and pasture plant. Japan clover (L. striata) is cultivated in some countries for forage. Some species, including bicolor lespedeza, are sometimes raised as ornamentals.