Common names: trailing lespedeza, trailing bush clover

Scientific names: Lespedeza procumbens

Seasons of significant use: summer (for Lespedeza spp. complex)

Characteristics: Native, perennial, warm season forb to 1.5 feet. Stems usually procumbent or trailing, to 6.0 feet, with spreading hairs; leaves alternate, pinnately trifoliolate compound; leaflets 3, sparsely to densely soft-hairy, without stipels; fruit is a 1-seeded, indehiscent pod. Flowers July-October.

Plant community type: Open uplands and bottomlands, as well as semi-open wooded areas. Often found in wooded-open edge situations.

Comments: Responds favorably to late winter-early spring burns.

More Plant Photos and Descriptions:
Appendix C: Plants by Common Name
Appendix C: Plants by Scientific Name
Appendix C: Plants Listed by Family