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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Lespedeza bicolor | Bicolor Lespedeza
ABBREVIATION :
LESBIC
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
LEBI
COMMON NAMES :
bicolor lespedeza
shrub lespedeza
Japanese bushclover
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for bicolor lespedeza is
Lespedeza bicolor Turcz. [1,13,18]. Recognized varieties are as follows
[1]:
L. bicolor var. bicolor Turcz.
L. bicolor var. japonica
L. bicolor var. rosa
LIFE FORM :
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
Julie L. Tesky, June 1992
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Tesky, Julie L. 1992. Lespedeza bicolor. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Lespedeza bicolor | Bicolor Lespedeza
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Bicolor lespedeza is native to Japan [14]. It has been introduced in
the United States and now occurs throughout most of the Southeast from
Arkansas to Maryland south to northern Florida and Texas [14,29].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
FRES14 Oak - pine
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES31 Shinnery
FRES32 Texas savanna
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie
STATES :
AL AR FL GA KY MD MS NC OK PA
RI SC TN VT VA WV
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
BISO GRSM OBRI
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
14 Great Plains
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K062 Mesquite - live oak savanna
K069 Bluestem - grama prairie
K071 Shinnery
K076 Blackland prairie
K077 Bluestem - sacahuista prairie
K079 Palmetto prairie
K084 Cross Timbers
K085 Mesquite - buffalograss
K086 Juniper - oak savanna
K087 Mesquite - oak savanna
K088 Fayette prairie
K089 Black Belt
K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
K112 Southern mixed forest
K115 Sand pine scrub
SAF COVER TYPES :
66 Ashe juniper - redberry (Pinchot) juniper
67 Mohrs ("shin") oak
68 Mesquite
69 Sand pine
70 Longleaf pine
71 Longleaf pine - scrub oak
75 Shortleaf pine
76 Shortleaf pine - oak
78 Virginia pine - oak
79 Virginia pine
80 Loblolly pine
81 Loblolly pine
82 Loblolly pine - hardwood
84 Slash pine
85 Slash pine - hardwood
89 Live oak
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Lespedeza bicolor | Bicolor Lespedeza
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Bicolor lespedeza provides good cover for birds and small mammals [3,7].
It is often planted as food for northern bobwhite and other upland game
birds [7,15]. On the Alabama Piedmont, the seeds of bicolor lespedeza
comprised nearly 34.1 percent of the total food volume consumed by
northern bobwhite [26]. Rabbits eat the bark in the winter. When
planting bicolor lespedeza for wildlife food, direct seeding in the
field is more successful than transplanting seedlings [29]. Bicolor
lespedeza has been grown in Japan for hay production. Yields and
quality are good [25].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Bicolor lespedeza seeds are high in protein content but are generally
low in digestibility [20]. Nutritional values of aerial parts of fresh,
immature and fresh, early bloom to full-bloom bicolor lespedeza are fair
to poor. Some nutritional values (percent) are listed below [22]:
aerial part, fresh immature fresh, early bloom
calcium 1.63 1.57
iron 0.034 0.030
magnesium 0.38 0.33
phosphorous 0.48 0.24
potassium 1.65 1.21
P:Ca ratio 1:3 1:6
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Bicolor lespedeza is a nitrogen-fixing legume planted for wildlife
habitat improvement, erosion control, and stabilization along
streambanks and steep slopes [14,16,29]. In the East it grows rapidly,
and its leaves produce a heavy soil-protecting mulch. Nursery stock and
field seedings of about 10 pounds per acre (1.5 kg/ha) are used for
wildlife habitat enhancement and erosion control [14]. It has been
planted on infertile acidic soils in the lower Coastal Plain of
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and in the Piedmont of North
Carolina and Virginia [17]. It has also been planted on sandy soils of
eastern Texas [27]. Establishment is usually most rapid and assured by
planting seedlings but can also be accomplished by direct seeding.
Normally, seed is mixed and sown with herbaceous species [29].
The cultivator 'Natob' is an early maturing, hardy, geographic strain of
bicolor lespedeza. 'Natob' is more winter hardy than any other
lespedeza shrub grown in this country [3,7]. This culitvator is
recommended where the growing season is 145 days or longer and the first
frost is September 25 or later. Its seed yield is about 350 pounds per
acre (52.9 kg/ha) in most parts of the recommended area [3].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Bicolor lespedza is a good source of pollen for honey bees [14]. It is
often planted as an ornamental in the southeastern United States [25].
Tryptophane-derived alkaloids having uterus-contracting or halucinogenic
properties have been isolated in Japanese laboratories from Lespedeza
bicolor var. japonic [1].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Bicolor lespedeza can interfere with initial tree growth and survival
and make later management operations difficult [17].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Lespedeza bicolor | Bicolor Lespedeza
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Bicolor lespedeza is an introduced, large, leguminous, deciduous shrub
ranging in height from 4 to 10 feet (1.2-3 m) [2,14]. It has an upright
spreading stem with many slender branches [2,27]. The leaves are
rounded 0.79 to 2 inches (2-5 cm) long [2]. Bicolor lespedeza has no
taproot but does have a much branched, well-nodulated, lateral root
system [7].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Sexual reproduction: Bicolor lespedeza is easily propogated by seed.
The flowers are self-pollinated or cross-pollinated by honeybees,
bumblebees, and other insects [29]. The fruit is a one-seeded,
indehiscent pod [13]. Seeds are stored in the seed bank or ingested by
birds and dispersed in their droppings [7,15]. Invitro bicolor
lespedeza seeds immersed in water for 16 hours at room temperature
required at least 3 days to germinate. Germination was 10 percent after
3 days and 30 percent after 7 days [6]. Germination is enhanced by
scarification [9,29]. Seeds may remain viable for up to 20 years if
stored at 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 deg C) and 40 percent relative
humidity [29].
Vegetative reproduction: Bicolor lespedeza will sprout from the root
crown after top-kill [23,25].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Bicolor lespedeza is found in fields, open woodlands, clearings, fence
and hedge rows, and along roadsides [13]. It occurs at elevations from
sea level to 2,500 feet (762 m) [30]. It is capable of maintaining
itself on acidic (lower pH limit 4.5) nutrient-poor soils [17,30]. It
is not frost tolerant and is often killed to the ground where the date
of the first killing frost is September 30 or earlier [7]. Bicolor
lespedeza is somewhat shade tolerant [14].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Bicolor lespedeza is a colonizer of early- to mid-seral grassland and
some open forest communities after disturbance. It is most abundant in
communities that are frequently disturbed and may become the dominant
species in these areas [26]. Bicolor lespedeza abundance will gradually
decrease in the absence of disturbance. Bicolor lespedeza densities
generally remain high in areas with a disturbance regime of 4 years
[5,26].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Bicolor lespedeza generally flowers in July and August, but flowering
begins as early as June in Mississippi and as late as September in
Maryland [29]. The fruit ripens in late September to late October
[7,29]. The pods fall to the ground when ripe and most of them are down
by early winter [29].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Lespedeza bicolor | Bicolor Lespedeza
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Bicolor lespedeza will sprout from the root crown following top-kill
[7,23,25]. Both on-site, fire-scarified seeds and off-site seeds are
important sources for colonizing burned areas [9].
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex
off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire yr 1&2
Ground residual colonizer (onsite, initial community)
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Lespedeza bicolor | Bicolor Lespedeza
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fire may top-kill bicolor lespedeza. High-severity fires may consume
seeds stored in the seed bank and destroy underground portions of the
plant.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Bicolor lespedeza generally increases in density under a frequent
burning regime (4 years) [7,26] because it sprouts from the root crown
after top-kill [7,23,25] and establishes new individuals from both on-
and off-site seed sources [8].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
On a site cleared and burned every 4 years since 1962 in the Georgia
Piedmont, bicolor lespedeza density was 1,529 per acre (619/ha) compared
to 0 on an adjacent site with no previous burning history [5]. The
effects of burning, fertilizing and a combination of both on the plant
community in the Alabama Piedmont was studied. The extent of coverage
of bicolor lespedeza on the various treated sites is as follows [26]:
Unburned and unfertilized= 0.01
Fertilized only= 0.16
Burned only (4 year interval)= 0.73
Burned and fertilized= 0.60
Bicolor lespedeza spread into the woods as a result of regular burning
on the North Auburn area and on a large Piedmont private quail preserve
in Alabama. On these areas it has become the dominant understory
species [26].
Bicolor lespedeza germination has been shown to increase with dry heat
treatments of up to 194 degrees Fahrenheit (90 deg C). The percent
germination of bicolor lespedeza seed treated with dry heat during the
summer of 1966 was as follows [9]:
Dry heat (degrees C)
Control 45 60 70 80 90 100 110
(% germ) 4 44 68 80 100 100 0 0
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Prescribed fire can increase bicolor lespedeza density [5,9,26] and
consequently improve the habitat for northern bobwhite and other game
birds. Nitrogen is a main soil nutrient lost during fire [31]. Because
bicolor lespedeza is a nitrogen-fixing plant, it can be planted on
burned sites to restore nitrogen to the soil [17].
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Lespedeza bicolor | Bicolor Lespedeza
REFERENCES :
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characteristics, uses, and nodulation. Madison, WI: The University of
Wisconsin Press. 1981 p. [18260]
2. Apgar, A. C. 1910. Ornamental shrubs of the United States. American Book
Company. [18261]
3. Belcher, C. R.; Sharp, W. C. 1979. Tasty Lespedezas. Soil Conservation.
44(11): 4-5. [18263]
4. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
5. Boring, Lindsay R.; Hendricks, Joseph J.; Edwards, M. Boyd. 1991. Loss,
retention, and replacement of nitrogen associated with site preparation
burning in southern pine-hardwood forests. In: Nodvin, Stephen C.;
Waldrop, Thomas A., eds. Fire and the environment: ecological and
cultural perspectives: Proceedings of an international symposium; 1990
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Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest
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inhibitors in Lespedeza seeds. Phytochemistry. 25(1): 93-95. [18264]
7. Crider, Franklin J. 1952. Natob: a new bush Lespedeza for soil
conservation. Circular No. 900. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture. 10 p. [18308]
8. Cushwa, Charles T.; Hopkins, Melvin; McGinnes, Burd S. 1970. Response of
legumes to prescribed burns in loblolly pine stands of the South
Carolina Piedmont. Res. Note SE-140. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 6
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9. Cushwa, Charles T.; Martin, Robert E.; Miller, Robert L. 1968. The
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planted woody species on disposal areas of the Tennessee-Tombigbee
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'89: the new management challenge: Proceedings, 1st annual meeting of
the Society for Ecological Restoration; 1989 January 16-20; Oakland, CA.
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Index
Related categories for Species: Lespedeza bicolor
| Bicolor Lespedeza
|
 |
