Herbs. Stems erect or ascending, 80–200 cm, branched distally, short appressed-pubescent, pilose, or villous. Leaves: stip­ules subulate to narrowly trian­gular, 3–6 mm; petiole 10–15(–20) mm, longer than rachis; leaflet blades ovate-elliptic, obovate, or rounded, apex obtuse or retuse, minutely apiculate, surfaces green, cinereous, or silvery abaxially, sparsely to densely seri­ceous abaxially, glabrous, sericeous, pilose, or silvery with fine, dense, appressed-silky hairs adaxially; termi­nal blade 10–40(–50) × (7–)10–30 mm, length 1.3–1.8 times width. Peduncles longer than subtending leaves. Racemes 10–40-flowered, axillary from distal leaves or clustered in compound inflorescences, flowers compact to lax, axis and pedicels visible, flowers chasmogamous and cleistogamous. Pedicels 1–2 mm; bracteoles longer than calyx tube. Flowers: chasmogamous 7–10 mm; calyx 7–10 mm, pubescent, tube 1–2 mm; lobes 5, lateral narrowly triangular, 7–8 mm, apices spinelike; corolla cream-white or creamy with pink or purple at throat; wings 6–7 mm; keel 5–6 mm. Loments: chasmogamous slightly included in calyx, ovate-oblong, 6–8 × 4–5 mm, cleistogamous slightly included in calyx, oblong, 6 × 4 mm; stipe subsessile.

Distribution

North America.

Discussion

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Lespedeza hirta forms natural hybrids with L. angustifolia, L. capitata, L. frutescens, L. procumbens, L. repens, L. stuevei, L. violacea, and L. virginica. Hybrids with L. violacea have been called L. × nuttallii Darlington, and offspring from Indiana plants of L. × nuttallii show morphologies that range from one parental species to the other. Other purple-petaled species may hybridize with L. hirta to produce off­spring similar to the morphology of L. × nuttallii (D. Isely 1998).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Lespedeza hirta subsp. curtissii, Lespedeza hirta subsp. hirta

Key

1	Leaflet adaxial surface glabrous, strigose, or pilose; stems villous or pilose.	Lespedeza hirta subsp. hirta
1	Leaflet adaxial surface silvery with fine, dense, appressed-silky hairs; stems appressed-pubescent or densely short-pilose.	Lespedeza hirta subsp. curtissii