SPECIES:  Lespedeza striata

• Introductory
• Distribution and Occurrence
• Management Considerations
• Botanical and Ecological Characteristics
• Fire Ecology
• Fire Effects
• References

Introductory
SPECIES: Lespedeza striata



AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Sullivan, Janet. 1993. Lespedeza striata. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. 
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 
Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). 
Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ [].




ABBREVIATION : 
LESSTR

SYNONYMS : 
   Kummerowia striata (Thunb.) Schindl.


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   LEST4


COMMON NAMES : 
   common lespedeza
   striate lespedeza
   annual lespedeza
   Japan clover
   Japanese clover
   Japanese bushclover


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name for common lespedeza is Lespedeza
striata (Thunb.) H. & A. [10,30].  There are no subspecies, varieties,
or forms.


LIFE FORM : 
Forb

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Lespedeza striata



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Common lespedeza is widely planted and naturalized in the southeastern
United States.  Its range extends from southern New Jersey west to
southern Iowa and eastern Kansas, and south to eastern Texas and
Oklahoma [10,29].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES12  Longleaf - slash pine
   FRES13  Loblolly - shortleaf pine
   FRES14  Oak - pine
   FRES15  Oak - hickory


STATES : 
     AL  AR  DE  FL  GA  HI  IL  IN  IA  KS
     KY  LA  MD  MS  MO  NJ  NC  OH  OK  PA
     SC  TN  TX  VA  WV



BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K089  Black Belt
   K100  Oak - hickory forest
   K104  Appalachian oak forest
   K110  Northeastern oak - pine forest
   K111  Oak - hickory - pine forest
   K112  Southern mixed forest
   K114  Pocosin
   K115  Sand pine scrub


SAF COVER TYPES : 
    40  Post oak - blackjack oak
    43  Bear oak
    44  Chestnut oak
    46  Eastern redcedar
    50  Black locust
    52  White oak - black oak - northern red oak
    53  White oak
    55  Northern red oak
    57  Yellow-poplar
    58  Yellow-poplar - eastern hemlock
    59  Yellow-poplar - white oak - northern red oak
    64  Sassafras - persimmon
    67  Mohrs ("shin") oak
    69  Sand pine
    70  Longleaf pine
    72  Southern scrub oak
    73  Southern redcedar
    75  Shortleaf pine
    79  Virginia pine
    80  Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
    81  Loblolly pine
    82  Loblolly pine - hardwood
    83  Longleaf pine - slash pine
    84  Slash pine
    85  Slash pine - hardwood
    87  Sweet gum - yellow-poplar
   109  Hawthorn
   110  Black oak


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
NO-ENTRY

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Lespedeza striata





IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Common lespedeza is planted for high-quality forage, pasturage, and hay
for all classes of livestock [10,25].  White-tailed deer and wild
turkeys consume the foliage [11,25].  The seeds are eaten by rodents and
birds, including cotton rats, northern bobwhites, wild turkeys,
mallards, starlings and mourning doves [2,9,11,25].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
The nutritional value of first cut, sun-cured, common lespedeza hay is
as follows [19]:

                   percent dry weight

Dry matter                91.4
Ash                        4.8
Crude fiber               25.2
Ether extract              3.8
N-free extract            43.7
Digestible protein
        Cattle             9.2
        Goats              9.7
        Horses             9.5
        Rabbits            9.4
        Sheep              9.2


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Common lespedeza has some applications for soil stabilization [20,25].
It does not do well, however, on highly eroded subsoils [9].  In
southern Virginia and northern Tennessee, seed mixtures containing
common lespedeza were either hydroseeded or aerially seeded on graded,
fertilized maganese mine spoils.  This treatment resulted in excellent
cover [17].

Common lespedeza is often included in grass mixtures or grass-perennial
legume mixtures in order to promote rapid establishment of grasses
[27,29].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Common lespedeza is planted for soil improvement [27,29].


OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Common lespedeza is relatively drought resistant [9].  

In northern parts of its range, frost may kill common lespedeza before
seed maturation [20].  

Scarification of common lespedeza seed improves germination rates [25].
Methods of cultivation are detailed [20,29].

In Mississippi, the best growth of legumes, including common lespedeza,
was achieved with a prescribed fire treatment.  Less favorable growth
resulted from burning and grazing, grazing alone, and protection from
both fire and grazing [28].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Lespedeza striata



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Common lespedeza is an exotic, annual legume with a bushy, erect growth
form.  When grown in shade, it may have a prostrate form [10].  It grows
up to 15.7 inches (40 cm) in height, but is usually less than 12 inches
(30.5 cm) in height.  It has a well-developed taproot [9,10,25].  The
inflorescence is a raceme [10].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Therophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
NO-ENTRY


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Common lespedeza is naturalized in old fields, roadsides, dry open
woods, rocky open areas, gravelly stream banks, and waste places [10,30].
It tolerates acids soils, with a lower pH limit of 4.5 [27].  Common
lespedeza grows in clay or sand, and is best adapted to well-drained,
fertile soils [9,20,25].  It occurs at elevations below 2,000 feet (610
m) at the northern limits of its range [27].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Obligate Initial Community Species

Common lespedeza is a pioneer on disturbed sites [3,9].  Once
established, it reseeds well, but is usually overgrown by other pioneers
in 2 or 3 years [9,18].  In Alabama, common lespedeza density was
greatest in 3- to 5-year-old fields, and decreased with advancing
succession [22].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Germination of common lespedeza occurs in late February to March.
Growth is slow in the early spring; development is more rapid in the
summer months [9,24].  It flowers from July to October [10], and seeds
mature in late autumn [9].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Lespedeza striata



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Common lespedeza is not well adapted to survive fire.  It is, however,
an colonizer of disturbed areas.  It is common in early postfire seres
when an off-site seed source is available [6].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Lespedeza striata



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Common lespedeza is killed by cool fires [15].  Seeds near the ground
surface are probably killed by fire; a 4-minute exposure of common
lespedeza seeds to dry heat at temperatures above 185 degrees Fahrenheit
(84 deg C) severely reduced germination rates [16].  No information was
available concerning the survival of buried seed.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Following prescribed fires in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations in
South Carolina, common lespedeza appeared in 3 percent of spring-burned
plots and 4 percent of summer-burned plots.  It was not present in
prefire or in control plots [4].  Common lespedeza increased after
prescribed fire in a southern Illinois grassland [1].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Prescribed fire in winter is useful for improving northern bobwhite and
wild turkey habitat.  Such fire reduces woody vegetation and increases
cover and density of grasses and legumes, including common lespedeza
[2,11].  Northern bobwhite habitat is enhanced when common lespedeza
is seeded in (either alone or in grass mixtures) after prescribed fire.
Because common lespedeza germinates early, seedlings may be killed by
late winter or spring fires [2,15,24].  Fire is not recommended on sites
where common lespedeza has already germinated and seedlings are dense [24].

REFERENCES
SPECIES: Lespedeza striata



REFERENCES : 

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