Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Lespedeza cuneata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may find it helpful to read Lespedeza Species in the Carolinas by Bill Stringer.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Leaves have white silky hairs appressed to the underside, and the leaflets are rather squared-off at the apex. Learn more from Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Extensively used as a soil stabilizer. Now invasive across most of our region, per Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lespedeza cuneata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Lespedeza cuneata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-27-011:
Lespedeza cuneata FAMILY Fabaceae
COMMON NAME:
Sericea Lespedeza, Chinese Lespedeza, Sericea
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm120406_613
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm060607_001
June Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow s050604_c
June Greenville County SC
Leaves often gray-green. Lower petioles 1-2.5cm, upper leaves sessile, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm060731_005
July Greenville County SC
Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve
)
Frank Breazeale fwb_img_8614ed1
August Anderson County SC
Flowers white w purple markings, solitary or 2 or 3 in upper axils, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm100809_402
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140809_492
August Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Flowers shorter than the subtending leaves, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm180813_3740
August Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow s050830_a
August Greenville County SC
Roadside
Stem often gray-green with lines of hairs, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
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Stephanie C. Brundage scb_090719DeepGap147ed
September Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_090719DeepGap160ed
September Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm141009_091
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Leaves densely appressed short-pubescent, appearing grayish-green or silvery, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm141020_163
October Greenville County SC
Leaflet base narrowly cuneate, the tip rounded, truncate or even retuse, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
COMPARE
leaves that are trifoliolate and pinnately compound
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JK Marlow jkm101120_286
November Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm101120_286b
November Greenville County SC
Flat single-seeded legume pod, 3-4mm wide, clasped by persistent sepals, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Lespedeza cuneata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lespedeza cuneata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Lespedeza cuneata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-27-011:
Lespedeza cuneata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
807
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Roadbanks, ‘wildlife food plots’, disturbed areas, floodplains, creekbanks, and invading other natural habitats, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: east Asia
Common
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- NC Botanical Garden
- NC Department of Transportation
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
LEAVES:
Odd-pinnately compound: 3 leaflets
Alternate
Stipules are persistent.
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Creamy-white
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
10 stamens, diadelphous, 9 and 1
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Fall
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p116
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p399
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p328
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010) p102
- Invasive Exotic Plants of North Carolina (Smith, 2008) p030
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p088
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p196
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p135
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p172
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p084
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p313