Lespedeza virginica |
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slender bush-clover, slender lespedeza |
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Habit | Herbs. |
Stems | ascending or erect, clustered, 30–160 cm, initially wandlike, branched apically, villosulous or appressed-pubescent. |
Leaves | stipules subulate to narrowly triangular, to 6 mm; petiole 7–12 mm, longer than rachis; leaflet blades narrowly elliptic-oblong to linear, base obtuse or cuneate, apex apiculate, surfaces appressed-pubescent abaxially, usually sparsely appressed-pubescent, sometimes glabrescent (but not glabrous), adaxially; laterals similar to terminal; terminal blade 10–35 × 3–5 mm, length 3–7 times width. |
Racemes | 4–14-flowered, crowded distally, flowers chasmogamous and cleistogamous. |
Peduncles | shorter than or equal to subtending leaves. |
Pedicels | 0.5–2 mm; bracteoles shorter than calyx tube. |
Flowers | chasmogamous 5–7 mm; calyx 3–4.5 mm, tube 1 mm; lobes 4, lateral narrowly triangular, 1–1.5 mm, adaxial connate proximally; corolla pink to purple; wings 5–6 mm; keel 4.5–5 mm. |
Loments | chasmogamous exserted from calyx, suborbicular, 4–7 mm, cleistogamous exserted from calyx, calyx 1/5–2/5 loment length, similar to chasmogamous, 3.5–5 mm; stipe 1 mm. |
2n | = 20. |
Lespedeza virginica |
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Phenology | Flowering late summer–fall. |
Habitat | Dry upland woodlands, clearings and borders, ruderal sites, old fields, eroded ridges, roadsides, pine barrens, moist savannas, prairie fragments. |
Elevation | 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; WI; WV; ON; Mexico (Nuevo León)
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Discussion | Lespedeza virginica forms natural hybrids with L. angustifolia, L. capitata, L. frutescens, L. hirta, L. procumbens (L. × brittonii E. P. Bicknell), L. repens, L. stuevei (L. × neglecta Mackenzie & Bush), and L. violacea. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Lespedeza |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | Medicago virginica, L. reticulata |
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Britton: Trans. New York Acad. Sci. 12: 64. (1893) |
Web links |