Appearance
Lespedeza cuneata is an upright semi-woody forb reaching 3-6 ft. (0.9-1.8 m) in height with one to many slender stems. Stems are often gray-green with lines of hairs along the stem.

Foliage
Leaves are thin, alternate, abundant, and three-parted. Leaflets have wedge-shaped bases and are 0.5-1 in. (1.3-2.5 cm) long and hairy.

Flowers
Flowering occurs from July to September, when small, creamy-white flowers with purple throats develop in clusters of two to four.

Fruit
Fruit is a flat ovate to round single-seeded pod 0.12-0.15 in. (3-4 mm) wide. Pods are clustered in terminal axils, scattered along the stem, and clasped by persistent sepals.

Ecological Threat
Lespedeza cuneata is an extremely aggressive invader of open areas and out-competes native vegetation. Once established, Lespedeza cuneata is very difficult to remove due to the seed bank which may remain viable for decades. Native to Asia and introduced into the United States in the late 1800s, it has been widely planted for erosion control, mine reclamation, and wildlife habitat.

Resources

• A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests - USDA Forest Service
• Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Invasive Plant Manual - SE-EPPC
• Weeds Gone Wild: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas - Plant Conservation Alliance
• Element Stewardship Abstract - The Nature Conservancy
• Weed of the Week - USDA Forest Service
• Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas - National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Selected Images

Maps

Invasive Listing Sources

• Alabama Invasive Plant Council
• City of Ann Arbor Michigan Parks and Recreation
• Delaware Invasive Species Council
• Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council - Category 1
• Hoffman, R. & K. Kearns, Eds. 1997. Wisconsin manual of control recommendations for ecologically invasive plants. Wisconsin Dept. Natural Resources, Bureau of Endangered Resources. Madison, Wisconsin. 102pp.
• Indiana Invasive Species Council - Invasive Plant List
• Indiana Terrestrial Plant Rule
• Invasive Plant Species of West Virginia
• Invasive Species of Concern in Georgia
• Iowa Forest Invasive Plants
• Jil M. Swearingen, Survey of invasive plants occurring on National Park Service lands, 2000-2007
• John Randall, The Nature Conservancy, Survey of TNC Preserves, 1995.
• Kansas Noxious Weeds
• Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council - Severe Threat
• Maryland Department of Natural Resources Policy: Restriction on Planting Exotic Invasive Plants
• Maryland Invasive Species Council - Invasive Species of Concern in Maryland
• Missouri SRISP Species List
• National Park Service, Mid-Atlantic Exotic Plant Management Team Invasive Plant List
• Nebraska Noxious Weeds
• New Jersey Invasive Species Management Act
• New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team 2017 Invasive Species List
• New York Regulated and Prohibited Invasive Species - Prohibited
• Non-Native Invasive Plants of Arlington County, Virginia
• Non-Native Invasive Plants of the City of Alexandria, Virginia
• Nonnative Invasive Species in Southern Forest and Grassland Ecosystems
• Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Invasive Plants
• Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas
• South Carolina Invasive Pest Council
• Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council
• Virginia Invasive Plant Species List
• WeedUS - Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States
• West Virginia Invasive Species Strategic Plan and Volunteer Guidelines 2014
• West Virginia Native Plant Society, Flora West Virginia Project, and West Virginia Curatorial Database System, September 3, 1999
• Wisconsin Noxious Weeds
• Wisconsin's Invasive species rule – NR 40

References