''Lespedeza'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of some 40

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

(including nothospecies) of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

s in the

pea family The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

(Fabaceae), commonly known as bush clovers or (particularly

East Asian East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

species) Japanese clovers (''hagi''). The genus is native to warm

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...

regions of eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

, eastern and southern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologic ...

. These shrubby plants or trailing

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

s belong to the "typical"

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock for ...

s (

Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family. This subfamily is widely ...

), with the peas and beans, though they are part of another

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

, the Desmodieae. Therein, they are treated as

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal ...

of the smaller

subtribe Subtribe is a taxonomic category ranking which is below the rank of tribe and above genus. The standard suffix for a subtribe is -ina (in animals) or -inae (in plants Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plan ...

Lespedezinae, which unites the present genus and its presumed closest relatives, '' Campylotropis'' and '' Kummerowia''.

Name of the plant

According to American botanist

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually excl ...

(1810 – 1888), the ''Lespedeza'' owes its name to governor of East Florida Vicente Manuel de Céspedes (1784-1790; who, through a letter, allowed botanist

André Michaux André Michaux, also styled Andrew Michaud, (8 March 174611 October 1802) was a French botanist and explorer. He is most noted for his study of North American flora. In addition Michaux collected specimens in England, Spain, France, and even Per ...

to explore East Florida in search of new species of plants, where Michaux found Lespedeza), but when Céspedes wrote the letter, at the beginning of it, the name of Céspedes was changed to "Zespedez". So, when Michaux's book ''Flora Boreali-Americana'' of 1802 was printed, the name "Céspedes" to refer to the plant was written as "Lespedez", the word from which the current name of the plant was derived.Lespedeza – From Asia with a Spanish Twist!
''Despeleza'' is a synonym of ''Lespedeza'', and this name is derived from a taxonomic anagram.

Cultivation and uses

Some

are grown as

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

s, and are used as a

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also use ...

crops, notably in the southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, and as a means of

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

enrichment and for prevention of

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

. In some areas, certain species are invasive. ''Lespedeza'', like other

s, have

root nodule Root nodules are found on the roots of plants, primarily legumes, that form a symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Under nitrogen-limiting conditions, capable plants form a symbiotic relationship with a host-specific strain of bacteria known a ...

s that harbor bacteria capable of

nitrogen fixation Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular nitrogen (), with a strong triple covalent bond, in the air is converted into ammonia () or related nitrogenous compounds, typically in soil or aquatic systems but also in industry. Atmo ...

from the air into a soil-bound form that can be taken up by other plants. Growers can take advantage of this process by putting the plants in their fields to release nitrogen, so they can use less fertilizer. '' L. bicolor'' leaves and roots contain l-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine ( lespedamin), as well as related N^ω,N^ω-

dimethyltryptamine ''N'',''N''-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT or ''N'',''N''-DMT, SPL026) is a substituted tryptamine that occurs in many plants and animals, including human beings, and which is both a derivative and a structural analog of tryptamine. It is used as a ...

s and their oxides, as well as some bufotenin.

Species

The

and nothospecies recognized in ''Lespedeza'' include: * '' Lespedeza angustifolia'' (Pursh) Elliott * '' Lespedeza × angustifolioides'' T.B.Lee * '' Lespedeza bicolor'' Turcz. (syn. ''L. bicolor'' var. ''japonica'' Nakai) – shrub lespedeza * '' Lespedeza buergeri'' Miq. * '' Lespedeza capitata'' Michx. (syn. ''L. frutescens'' Elliott, ''L. stuevei'' DC.) * '' Lespedeza caraganae'' Bunge * '' Lespedeza chinensis'' G.Don * ''

Lespedeza cuneata ''Lespedeza cuneata'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names Chinese bushclover and sericea lespedeza, or just sericea.Gucker, Corey. (2010) (Revised from Munger, Gregory T., 2004)''Lespedeza cuneata'' In: ...

'' (Dumont-Cours.) G. Don (syn ''Lespedeza sericea'') * '' Lespedeza cyrtobotrya'' Miq. – leafy lespedeza * '' Lespedeza cyrtobuergeri'' Akiyama & H.Ohba * '' Lespedeza davidii'' Franch. * '' Lespedeza davurica'' (Laxm.) Schindl. * '' Lespedeza × divaricata'' (Nakai) T.B.Lee * '' Lespedeza dunnii'' Schindl. * '' Lespedeza elegans'' Cambess. * '' Lespedeza elliptica'' Benth. * '' Lespedeza fasciculiflora'' Franch. * '' Lespedeza floribunda'' Bunge (syn. ''L. bicolor'' Prain) * '' Lespedeza fordii'' Schindl. * '' Lespedeza forrestii'' Schindl. * '' Lespedeza gerardiana'' Maxim. * '' Lespedeza hirta'' (L.) Hornem. ** ''Lespedeza hirta'' ssp. ''curtissii'' Clewell (syn. ''L. hirta'' Elliott) * '' Lespedeza homoloba'' Nakai * '' Lespedeza inschanica'' (Maxim.) Schindl. – greenish juncea lespedeza * '' Lespedeza intermedia'' (S.Watson) Britton (syn. ''L. frutescens'' (L.) Britton, ''L. frutescens'' var. ''acutifructa'' Farw.) * '' Lespedeza intermixta'' Makino (possibly a hybrid) – neonchul lespedeza * '' Lespedeza japonica'' L.H.Bailey * '' Lespedeza juncea'' (L.f.) Pers. – juncea lespedeza ** ''Lespedeza juncea'' var. ''sericea'' (Thunb.) Lace & Hauech (syn. ''L. cuneata'' (Dum.Cours.) G.Don) * '' Lespedeza junghuhniana'' Bakh.f. * '' Lespedeza kagoshimensis'' Hatus. * '' Lespedeza leptostachya'' A.Gray * '' Lespedeza maximowiczii'' R.C.Schneid. – Korean lespedeza * '' Lespedeza melanantha'' Nakai – black-flower lespedeza * '' Lespedeza mucronata'' Ricker * '' Lespedeza × patentibicolor'' T.B.Lee * '' Lespedeza pilosa'' (Thunb.) Siebold & Zucc. – pilose lespedeza * '' Lespedeza potaninii'' Vassilcz. * '' Lespedeza procumbens'' Michx. * '' Lespedeza pubescens'' Hayata * '' Lespedeza repens'' (L.) W.P.C.Barton * '' Lespedeza × simulata'' Mack. & Bush * '' Lespedeza speciosa'' Maxim. * '' Lespedeza stuevei'' Nutt. * '' Lespedeza texana'' Britton * '' Lespedeza thunbergii'' (DC.) Nakai (syn. ''L. elliptica'' Maxim., ''L. formosa'' (Vogel) Koehne, ''L. formosa'' ssp. ''elliptica'' (Maxim.) Akiyama & H.Ohba) ** ''Lespedeza thunbergii'' var. ''var.'' thunbergii (DC.)Nakai (syn. ''L. patens'' Nakai, ''L. patens'' var. ''obtusifolia'' Nakai) ** ''Lespedeza thunbergii'' var. ''velutina'' (Nakai) H.Ohashi (syn. ''L. intermedia'' Nakai, ''L. intermedia'' var. ''angustifolia'' Nakai) * '' Lespedeza tomentosa'' (Thunb.) Maxim. (syn. ''L. hirta'' Miq.) – woolly lespedeza * '' Lespedeza violacea'' (L.) Pers. * '' Lespedeza virgata'' (Murray) DC. – Wando lespedeza * '' Lespedeza virginica'' (L.) Britton (syn. ''L. angustifolia'' Darl.) * '' Lespedeza wilfordii'' Ricker The identity and specific validity of '' L. schindleri'' is unclear. In addition, there are some species formerly in this genus that are now placed elsewhere, typically in the Lespedezinae, for example, in genus '' Campylotropis''. These include:ILDIS (2005) * ''Lespedeza speciosa'' Schindl. = '' Campylotropis speciosa'' (Schindl.) Schindl. * ''Lespedeza striata'' (Thunb.) Hook. & Arn. = '' Kummerowia striata'' (Thunb.) Schindl. * ''Lespedeza tomentosa'' Maxim. = '' Campylotropis pinetorum'' (Kurz) Schindl.

Footnotes

References

* International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS) (2005)
Genus ''Lespedeza''
Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 2011-FEB-18. * Morimoto, Hiroshi & Matsumoto, Norichika (1966). Über Alkaloide, VI. Inhaltsstoffe ''Lespedeza bicolor'' var. ''japonica'', II. Alkaloid contents of ''L. bicolor'' var. ''japonica'' II."'' J. Liebigs Ann. Chem.'' 682(1): 212–218 n German * Morimoto, Hiroshi & Oshio, Haruji (1965). Über Alkaloide, V. Inhaltsstoffe von ''Lespedeza bicolor'' var. ''japonica'', I. Über Lespedamin, ein neues Alkaloid. Alkaloid contents of ''L. bicolor'' var. ''japonica'' I. On Lespedamin, a novel alkaloid."'' J. Liebigs Ann. Chem.'' 682(1): 212–218 n German

External links

* *
''Sericea in conservation farming''
a freely readable informational booklet scan hosted by the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School, ...

Digital Library
''Lespedeza bicolor''
at the National Resources Conservation Service. Contains information, images, and a map of its North American distribution. {{Authority control Fabaceae genera