Lespedeza thunbergii
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''Lespedeza thunbergii'' is a species of flowering plant in the
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 f ...
family known by the common names Thunberg's bushclover, Thunberg's lespedeza, and shrub lespedeza. It is native to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. This species produces annual stems up to tall and in diameter. They die back completely at the end of the season. The abundant pink to purplish flowers bloom in late summer. The fruit is a
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 f ...
pod containing black seeds.''Lespedeza thunbergii''.
USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet.
The
specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''thunbergii'' refers to the 18th-century Swedish botanist
Carl Peter Thunberg Carl Peter Thunberg, also known as Karl Peter von Thunberg, Carl Pehr Thunberg, or Carl Per Thunberg (11 November 1743 – 8 August 1828), was a Swedish naturalist and an "apostle" of Carl Linnaeus. After studying under Linnaeus at Uppsala Un ...
. In cultivation this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's
Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...
. It has been used to provide habitat for game animals, often alongside switchgrass. Cultivars include 'VA-70', 'Amquail', 'White Fountain', and 'Gibraltar'.''Lespedeza thunbergii''.
Missouri Botanical Garden.
This species has the capacity to become
invasive Invasive may refer to: *Invasive (medical) procedure *Invasive species *Invasive observation, especially in reference to surveillance *Invasively progressive spread of disease from one organ in the body to another, especially in reference to cancer ...
. Afbeelding-073-Lespedeza thunbergii.tif, ''Lespedeza thunbergii'' (then called ''Desmodium penduliflorum'' Oudem) by
Abraham Jacobus Wendel Abraham Jacobus Wendel (Leiden, 31 October 1826 Leiden, 23 September 1915) was a Dutch lithographer, draughtsman and scientific botanical and paleontological illustrator using the signature AW and A. J. Wendel USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1133214 thunbergii Flora of China Flora of Japan Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle