Lespedeza frutescens |
Lespedeza leptostachya |
|
---|---|---|
shrubby lespedeza, violet bush-clover |
prairie bush-clover, prairie lespedeza |
|
Habit | Herbs. | Herbs. |
Stems | ascending or sprawling, clustered, 10–50 cm, branched much of length, sericeous or glabrescent. |
erect, slender, 70–100 cm, mostly simple, with axillary, exserted inflorescences distally, pubescent. |
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. |
stipules subulate to narrowly triangular, to 5 mm; petiole 6–10 mm, longer than rachis; leaflet blades linear to narrowly oblong, apex rounded or obtuse, apiculate, surfaces densely sericeous abaxially, uniformly appressed-pubescent adaxially; terminal blade 20–40 × 2–7 mm, length 2.5–7 times width. |
Racemes | slender, 4–7-flowered, flowers not clustered at apex, flowers chasmogamous and cleistogamous. |
8–15-flowered, flowers lax on axis, flowers chasmogamous, cleistogamous rare, racemes shorter than to 1–4 times length of subtending leaves. |
Peduncles | usually much longer than subtending leaves, sericeous. |
equal to or much longer than subtending leaves. |
Pedicels | 0.5–3 mm, appressed-puberulent; bracteoles shorter than calyx tube. |
to 1 mm; bracteoles longer 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. |
chasmogamous 5–6 mm; calyx 4.5–6 mm, longer than corolla and loments, tube 1 mm; lobes 5, lateral narrowly triangular to subulate, 4–5 mm, setaceous, villous, apices spinelike; corolla whitish yellow or lavender-tinged; wings 4.5–5.2 mm; keel 4–4.5 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. |
chasmogamous included in calyx, rounded, 4–6 mm, cleistogamous similar to chasmogamous; stipe subsessile. |
2n | = 20. |
|
Lespedeza frutescens |
Lespedeza leptostachya |
|
Phenology | Flowering late summer–fall. | Flowering late summer–fall. |
Habitat | Open deciduous, dry upland woodlands, prairie fragments, alluvial woodlands, ruderal areas, limestone or sandy soils. | Upland prairie remnants. |
Elevation | 0–900 m. (0–3000 ft.) | 100–500 m. (300–1600 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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IA; IL; MN; WI
|
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.) |
Hybridization of Lespedeza leptostachya with L. capitata has been documented (J. B. Fant et al. 2010). Lespedeza leptostachya is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Lespedeza | 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) | Engelmann ex A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 12: 57. (1876) |
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