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hairy bush-clover, hairy bush-clover or lespedeza, hairy lespedeza

prairie lespedeza, violet lespedeza, wand bush-clover, wandlike bush-clover

Habit Herbs. Herbs.
Stems

erect or ascending, 80–200 cm, branched distally, short appressed-pubescent, pilose, or villous.

erect or ascending, 40–150 cm, wandlike or branched apically, strigose or puberulent.

Leaves

stipules subulate to narrowly triangular, 3–6 mm;

petiole 10–15(–20) mm, longer than rachis;

leaflet blades ovate-elliptic, obovate, or rounded, apex obtuse or retuse, minutely apiculate, surfaces green, cinereous, or silvery abaxially, sparsely to densely sericeous abaxially, glabrous, sericeous, pilose, or silvery with fine, dense, appressed-silky hairs adaxially;

terminal blade 10–40(–50) × (7–)10–30 mm, length 1.3–1.8 times width.

stipules subulate to narrowly triangular, 2–4 mm;

petiole 7–20 mm, longer than rachis;

leaflet blades obovate to elliptic-oblong, apex obtuse or retuse, apiculate, surfaces strigose abaxially, often glabrous, sometimes sparsely appressed-puberulent only on midrib adaxially;

laterals not oblique at base;

terminal blade 10–40 × 5–15 mm, length 1.5–3 times width.

Racemes

10–40-flowered, axillary from distal leaves or clustered in compound inflorescences, flowers compact to lax, axis and pedicels visible, flowers chasmogamous and cleistogamous.

4–10-flowered, crowded distally, flowers chasmogamous and cleistogamous.

Peduncles

longer than subtending leaves.

shorter than or equal to subtending leaves.

Pedicels

1–2 mm;

bracteoles longer than calyx tube.

2–3 mm;

bracteoles shorter than calyx tube.

Flowers

chasmogamous 7–10 mm;

calyx 7–10 mm, pubescent, tube 1–2 mm;

lobes 5, lateral narrowly triangular, 7–8 mm, apices spinelike;

corolla cream-white or creamy with pink or purple at throat;

wings 6–7 mm;

keel 5–6 mm.

chasmogamous 6–7 mm;

calyx 3–4.5 mm, appressed-puberulent, tube 1–1.5 mm;

lobes 4, lateral narrowly triangular, 2–3 mm, adaxial connate proximally;

corolla pink-lavender to purple;

wings 6–7 mm;

keel 5–6 mm.

Loments

chasmogamous slightly included in calyx, ovate-oblong, 6–8 × 4–5 mm, cleistogamous slightly included in calyx, oblong, 6 × 4 mm;

stipe subsessile.

body exserted from calyx, calyx 1/2 loment length, chasmogamous ovate to rounded, 5–7 mm, cleistogamous rounded, 4–6 mm, appressed-puberulent;

stipe 1.5 mm.

2n

= 20.

Lespedeza hirta

Lespedeza violacea

Phenology Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Open, upland rocky, decid­uous woodlands, mixed or dry pine woods, mesic bot­toms, old fields, roadsides, often on acidic, sandy soils.
Elevation 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from USDA
North America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Lespedeza hirta forms natural hybrids with L. angustifolia, L. capitata, L. frutescens, L. procumbens, L. repens, L. stuevei, L. violacea, and L. virginica. Hybrids with L. violacea have been called L. × nuttallii Darlington, and offspring from Indiana plants of L. × nuttallii show morphologies that range from one parental species to the other. Other purple-petaled species may hybridize with L. hirta to produce offspring similar to the morphology of L. × nuttallii (D. Isely 1998).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

The name Lespedeza intermedia has traditionally been used for plants here called L. violacea (J. L. Reveal and F. R. Barrie 1991). The species that previously was called L. violacea is now L. frutescens.

Lespedeza violacea forms natural hybrids with L. capitata, L. frutescens, L. hirta, L. procumbens, L. repens, L. stuevei, and L. virginica.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Leaflet adaxial surface glabrous, strigose, or pilose; stems villous or pilose.
subsp. hirta
1. Leaflet adaxial surface silvery with fine, dense, appressed-silky hairs; stems appressed-pubescent or densely short-pilose.
subsp. curtissii
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Lespedeza Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Lespedeza
Sibling taxa
L. angustifolia, L. bicolor, L. capitata, L. cuneata, L. cyrtobotrya, L. daurica, L. frutescens, L. leptostachya, L. procumbens, L. repens, L. stuevei, L. texana, L. thunbergii, L. violacea, L. virginica
L. angustifolia, L. bicolor, L. capitata, L. cuneata, L. cyrtobotrya, L. daurica, L. frutescens, L. hirta, L. leptostachya, L. procumbens, L. repens, L. stuevei, L. texana, L. thunbergii, L. virginica
Subordinate taxa
L. hirta subsp. curtissii, L. hirta subsp. hirta
Synonyms Hedysarum hirtum Hedysarum violaceum, L. intermedia
Name authority (Linnaeus) Hornemann: Hort. Bot. Hafn. 2: 699. (1815) (Linnaeus) Persoon: Syn. Pl. 2: 318. (1807)
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