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| Invasive Species Description
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| Scientific Name:
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Lespedeza cuneata
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| Species ID:
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8
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| Common Name:
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Sericea lespedeza, Chinese lespedeza
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| USDA Code:
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LECU
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| Type:
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Plant
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| Notes:
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Origin
Lespedeza cuneata was introduced to the southern U.S. from Eastern Asia in the 1800s for erosion control, forage, and hay production on poor soils.
Known Distribution
Sericea lespedeza is currently known to occur in 36 of the continental United States. It has now become naturalized from Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, and Texas, north to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Oklahoma.
Habitat
Sericea lespedeza occurs in disturbed areas such as roadsides, ditches, and railroad right-of-ways. It escapes from pasture into woodlands, fields, prairies, meadows and borders of ponds and swamps.
Ecology
Sericea lespedeza is a warm season aggressive legume which is adapted to a wide range of conditions. It competes with native species forming dense stands with numerous upright stems. Sericea lespedeza also produces allelopathic compounds and is not generally eaten by wildlife due to tannins in its tissues.
Identification
Sericea lespedeza is a shrubby deciduous perennial about 2 to 5 feet tall. Course stems are single or clustered with numerous branches.
Leaves are alternate and club or wedge shaped, ¼ to 1 inch long, trifoliate and attached to the stem by a short petiole. Leaves are round to flat at the top and have sticky hairs on the underneath surface.
Flowers, fruits and seeds: Flowers, which are yellowish-white with purple to pink markings, appear from mid-July to early October. A flat oval legume bears the small tan or greenish colored seeds.
Dispersal: Sericea lespedeza has no specialized structures for dispersal. However, it is aided by animals that consume the fruits and pass the seeds.
Prevention and Control
Mowing and chemical management are the best available options for control. Herbicide should be used in early to mid summer. When using herbicides, tricolpyr and clopyralid are effective, therefore Roundup® can be used. Whatever technique you use, always replant with non-invasive plants as soon as possible. Building a healthy landscape helps to keep invasive plants from taking over.
Misc. information
An extremely aggressive invader of open areas, out competing native vegetation. Once it is established is very difficult to remove due to the seed bank, which can remain viable for decades. Native to Asia and introduced into the Unites States in the late 1800s, Chinese lespedeza has been widely planted for wildlife habitat, erosion control, and mine reclamation. Its root system, a combination of a taproot and a small set of fibrous roots at the surface, is not like the heavy, deep and fibrous root system of native grasses. Therefore, native grasses work much better for erosion control. In Kansas in 2001, apprx. 430,000 acres of rangelands were infested with this species.
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