Lespedeza thunbergii
Species of legume
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lespedeza thunbergii is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names Thunberg's bushclover, Thunberg's lespedeza, and shrub lespedeza. It is native to the eastern Himalayas, China, Korea, and Japan.[2]
| Lespedeza thunbergii | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Lespedeza |
| Species: | L. thunbergii |
| Binomial name | |
| Lespedeza thunbergii (DC.) Nakai (1927) | |
| Subspecies[1] | |
|
5; see text | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Plant description
Varieties
Five subspecies are accepted:[1]
- Lespedeza thunbergii subsp. elliptica (Benth. ex Maxim.) H.Ohashi – eastern Himalayas to central China
- Lespedeza thunbergii subsp. formosa (Vogel) H.Ohashi – southeastern China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan
- Lespedeza thunbergii subsp. patens (Nakai) H.Ohashi – Japan (northern and central Honshu)
- Lespedeza thunbergii subsp. satsumensis (Nakai) H.Ohashi – Japan (Kagoshima Prefecture)
- Lespedeza thunbergii subsp. thunbergii – central and southern China, Korea, central and southern Japan, and the Ryukyu Islands
Nomenclature
The specific epithet thunbergii refers to the 18th-century Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg.[4]
Awards
In cultivation this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[5][6] Cultivars include 'VA-70', 'Amquail',[3] 'White Fountain', and 'Gibraltar'.[7]
