Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Kummerowia stipulacea
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may find it helpful to read Lespedeza Species in the Carolinas by Bill Stringer.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about Kummerowia from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Kummerowia stipulacea
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Kummerowia stipulacea
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-27-001:
Lespedeza stipulacea FAMILY Fabaceae
COMMON NAME:
Korean-clover, Korean Lespedeza
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_k_stipulacea_4
September
Leaflets emarginate at the apex, conspicuously spreading-ciliate, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
COMPARE
leaves that are trifoliolate and pinnately compound
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_kummerowia_stipulacea
September Catawba County NC
Mid-stem leaves with petioles 4-10mm long; stems antrorsely appressed-strigose, per Weakley's Flora.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Kummerowia stipulacea
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Kummerowia stipulacea
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Kummerowia stipulacea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-27-001:
Lespedeza stipulacea
FAMILY
Fabaceae
812
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: east Asia
Common in Carolinas (uncommon to rare in GA)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
LEAVES:
Palmately compound: 3 leaflets
Alternate
Stipules are persistent.
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Purplish
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
10 stamens, diadelphous, 9 and 1
Superior ovary
Flowers in spikelike axillary racemes
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p110
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p338
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p195
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p083
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".