Lespedeza frutescens |
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shrubby lespedeza, violet bush-clover |
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Habit | Herbs. |
Stems | ascending or sprawling, clustered, 10–50 cm, branched much of length, sericeous or glabrescent. |
Leaves | usually 2 sizes, axillary ones subtending racemes much smaller; stipules subulate, 2.5–6 mm; petiole (5–)10–15(–20) mm, longer than rachis; leaflet blades elliptic to narrowly elliptic, apex obtuse or retuse, apiculate, surfaces sericeous abaxially, glabrous adaxially; laterals similar to terminal, without oblique base; terminal blade 10–30(–40) × 8–22 mm (6–10 mm in axillary leaves), length 1.4–2.5 times width. |
Racemes | slender, 4–7-flowered, flowers not clustered at apex, flowers chasmogamous and cleistogamous. |
Peduncles | usually much longer than subtending leaves, sericeous. |
Pedicels | 0.5–3 mm, appressed-puberulent; bracteoles shorter than calyx tube. |
Flowers | chasmogamous 6.5–9 mm; calyx 4–6 mm, appressed-puberulent, tube 1–1.2 mm; lobes 4, lateral narrowly triangular, 2.5–3 mm, adaxial connate proximally, apices acuminate; corolla purple; wings 5.5–6.5 mm; keel 6–8 mm. |
Loments | chasmogamous as long as calyx, ovate to rounded, 5–7 mm, cleistogamous exserted from calyx, calyx 1/5 loment length, rounded, 4–5 mm; stipe subsessile. |
2n | = 20. |
Lespedeza frutescens |
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Phenology | Flowering late summer–fall. |
Habitat | Open deciduous, dry upland woodlands, prairie fragments, alluvial woodlands, ruderal areas, limestone or sandy soils. |
Elevation | 0–900 m. (0–3000 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WV; ON
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Discussion | The name Lespedeza violacea was widely applied to L. frutescens in the past; however, the type specimen of the basionym (Hedysarum violaceum) represents the species previously called L. intermedia. The result is that the name L. violacea replaces what was called L. intermedia, and L. frutescens must be taken up for this species (J. L. Reveal and F. R. Barrie 1991). Lespedeza frutescens forms natural hybrids with L. capitata, L. hirta, L. procumbens, L. repens, L. stuevei, L. violacea, and L. virginica. Hybrids with L. violacea are common (A. F. Clewell 1966) and have been called L. × acuticarpa Mackenzie & Bush. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Lespedeza |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | Hedysarum frutescens, L. prairea, L. violacea var. divergens, L. violacea var. prairea |
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Hornemann: Hort. Bot. Hafn. 2: 699. (1815) |
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