Lespedeza is a genus of some 40 species (including nothospecies) of flowering plants in the pea family (Fabaceae), commonly known as bush clovers or (particularly East Asian species) Japanese clovers (hagi). The genus is native to warm temperate to subtropical regions of eastern North America, eastern and southern Asia and Australasia.

Lespedeza bicolor is often grown as ornamental

These shrubby plants or trailing vines belong to the "typical" legumes (Faboideae) like peas and beans, though within these they are part of another tribe, the Desmodieae. Therein, they are treated as type genus of the smaller subtribe Lespedezinae, which unites the present genus and its presumed closest relatives, Campylotropis and Kummerowia

Cultivation and uses

Some species are grown as garden or ornamental plants, and/or are used as a forage crops, notably in the southern United States, and as a means of soil enrichment and for prevention of erosion. In some areas, they are an invasive species. Lespedeza are collectively classified as legumes, meaning that their roots harbor bacteria capable of nitrogen fixation from the air into a soil-bound form that can be taken up by other plants (thereby reducing fertilizer input costs).

L. bicolor leaves and roots contain l-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (lespedamin), as well as related N^ω,N^ω-DMTs and their oxides, as well as some bufotenin.^[1]

Species

Lespedeza capitata inflorescences and leaves

Lespedeza cuneata habitus

Lespedeza cyrtobotrya flowering branch

The species and nothospecies recognized in Lespedeza are:^[2]

The identity and/or specific validity of L. schindleri is unclear.^[3]

In addition, there are some species formerly in this genus but nowadays placed elsewhere (typically Lespedezinae, e.g. Campylotropis), such as:^[4]

• Lespedeza speciosa Schindl. = Campylotropis speciosa (Schindl.) Schindl.
• Lespedeza tomentosa Maxim. = Campylotropis pinetorum (Kurz) Schindl.

Footnotes

References

Data related to Lespedeza at Wikispecies

• 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 [in German]. doi:10.1002/jlac.19666920122 (HTML abstract)
• 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 [in German]. doi:10.1002/jlac.19656820121 (HTML abstract)