Angiosperms: Dicotyledons

Fabaceae
Legume Family

• Notes:

  Lespedeza virginica is similar to L. capitata except the leaves are crowded, and the leaflets are longer (1 3/8” by 1/4”) and more hairy above. The flowers are in short racemes (1/2” long) from the upper leaf axils. The corolla is purple and longer than the calyx. The calyx lobes fall in fruit, exposing the pod. Flowering is from mid-August to mid-September, and fruiting begins in mid-September. L. virginica is frequent in open, upland woods, in openings, and on dry prairies.

  Two other bush clovers, both non-natives, might be encountered on dry prairies in southern Iowa. Korean lespedeza, L. stipulacea Maxim., sometimes planted in grass-legume pasture mixtures, occasionally escapes into disturbed prairies and roadsides. It is very short, 6” to 12” tall, and has very small leaves and purple flowers (3/16” long). Silky bush clover, L. cuneata (Dumont-Cours.) G. Don, used as a soil stabilizer, is about 3’ tall with many branches, the leaves are very crowded, and the flowers are 1/4” long with white petals marked with purple spots. It also escapes into dry, disturbed habitats.

• Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Vascular Plants of Iowa