Lespedeza repens

creeping lespedeza, creeping bushclover, creeping bush-clover
Family

Fabaceae

Leaf Arrangement

alternate

Leaf Attachment

petiolate

Leaf Margin

entire

Leaf Type

compound, trifoliolate

Growth Form

forb

Flower Color

pink, purple

Flower Month

April - October

Height (meters)

0.3 - 1.0

Milky Sap

No

Armed/Unarmed

Unarmed

Origin

native

Lifespan

perennial

Growing Season

Warm season


Prairie Coefficient of Conservatism

5

Field Characters

Lespideza are sometimes confused with Desmodium sp. but can be distinguished by their seed pods which are short, oval, usually one-seeded, and are intact at maturity while the pods of Desmodium are elongated, and break into one-seeded segments at maturity.

Cultural Information

Propagation is best by seed which require cold/moist stratification at 33-40 degrees F (1-5 C) for 10 days and scarification (Shirley 1994, Steffen 1997).

Animal Use

The following Information is for the genus Lespedeza with note that L. striatat and L. stipulacea are especially important: The animals that eat the seeds: Mourning dove, Bobwhite quail, Wild turkey. Animals that eat the plant: White-tailed deer (Martin et al. 1951).

Natural History

Creeping lespedeza grows on roadsides and in open sandy woodlands and prairies of north and central Louisiana and east and north-central Texas. It is found throughout most of eastern and central United States. Lespedeza repens blooms in April while the other species of Lespedeza (L. capitata and L. virginica) do not bloom until July.

Habitat

Sandy or gravelly soils, open woodlands, fields, roadsides, common in acid soils, rocky hillsides.