Lespedeza virginica L., slender lespedeza, slender bushclover. Perennial herb, taprooted from woody caudex, 1—several–stemmed at base, to 35 cm tall; shoots with cauline leaves, short–strigose with upward–pointing hairs; caudex with many young shoot buds.
Stems initially 8–ridged aging cylindric, to 6 mm at plant base, internodes to 10 mm long, with conspicuous vertical lenticels, old stem brittle, red–rown, and without hairs.
Leaves helically alternate, pinnately 3–foliolate, petiolate with pulvinus, with stipules; stipules 2, attached to leaf base below pulvinus, awl–shaped, 1—2.5 mm long, red, with raised midvein on lower surface, short–strigose, late–deciduous; petiole pulvinus ca. 1 mm long, with upward–pointing hairs, tinged reddish, petiole channeled above pulvinus, < 2—6 mm long; rachis channeled, < 2 mm long; stipels absent; petiolules pulvinuslike, 0.6—0.9 mm long, densely short–hairy; blades of leaflets ± narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblong, (3—)7—15(—25) × 1.5—4(—5) mm, somewhat folded upward from midrib, ± rounded at base, entire, obtuse to rounded with short point at tip (= extension of midrib), pinnately veined with principal veins sunken on upper surface and conspicuous and midrib raised on lower surface, lower surface with scattered glandular dots.
Inflorescence raceme, axillary, with 1 or 2 types of flowers with cleistogamous flowers at base and upper flowers chasmogamous or mixed, flowers paired at nodes, bracteate, short–strigose; bracts at base of raceme 2, ± triangular, 0.5 mm long, green or tinged reddish, sometimes keeled, short–strigose; bractlets subtending pair of flowers 2—3, lanceolate, ca. 0.5 mm long, green, short–strigose; pedicel of chasmogamous flowers short, with 2 subopposite bracteoles subtending calyx, awl–shaped, ca. 1.5 mm long, green, short–strigose with upward–pointing hairs.
Chasmogamous flower bisexual, bilateral, 1.5—4 mm across (banner); calyx 5–lobed, 3.2—4.4 mm long, short–strigose with upward–pointing hairs; tube bell–shaped somewhat compressed side–to–side, 1.3—1.8 mm long, green; lower lobes 3, acuminate, > tube, having raised midvein to each tip, upper limb closely 2–forked approaching tip, purplish or purple with tannish; petals 5, clawed; banner obovate, claw ca. 1 mm long, greenish, limb 5—5.5 × 4 mm with a pair of inrolled basal lobes 1 mm long, lower portion greenish, upper portion pink–purple above lobes with a set of 10+ red–purple, radially oriented spots; wings 2, 5.5—6 mm long, claws to 2 mm long, whitish to greenish, limbs locked with keel, oblong with basal lobe, ca. 4 × 1.5 mm, yellowish white with pinkish above midpoint; keel of 2 petals fused ca. 1.5 mm on lower edges of limbs to tip, claws 2 mm long, whitish to greenish, lobes yellowish white at base to light reddish purple approaching tip, notched at tip, glabrous; stamens 10 (9 fused + 1 free), ± 4 mm long; filaments free portion curved upward, 0.8—1.1 mm long; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, 0.25—0.3 mm long, light orange–yellow, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen light orange–yellow; pistil 1, 5—5.5 mm long, green, short–stalked (stipe), the stipe channeled and glabrous; ovary superior, narrowly ovoid, ca. 2 × 0.7 mm, densely covered with stiff, short white hairs, 1–chambered with 1 green ovule attached to upper side; style curved upward with some hairs to midpoint, stigma capitate.
Cleistogamous flower bisexual, bilateral, 1 mm across; calyx short–lobed, to 3.5 mm long; tube to midpoint; petals lacking claws, to 3.5 mm long; purplish red to reddish purple, darker than in chasmogamous flower; stamens 10 (9 fused + 1 free), to 2.5 mm long; filament free portion 0.4—0.7 mm long, light green; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, ca. 0.25 mm long, greenish, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen orangish; pistil 1, to 2 mm long, green, lacking stalk (stipe); ovary superior, narrowly ovoid, 1–chambered with 1 green ovule attached to upper side; style somewhat hooked approaching tip, stigma capitate.
Fruit pod (legume), short–stalked or sessile, indehiscent, 1–seeded, ovoid to broadly ellipsoid, ca. 6 × 3.5 mm, slightly inflated by seed, with raised veins, short–strigose with upward–pointing hairs; style (beak) persistent, narrow, upper portion curved to hooked; calyx and orangish bracteole persistent.
Seed oval in outline compressed side–to–side, ca. 2.5 × 2 × 0.7 mm, olive to brown.
A. C. Gibson