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].

Related categories for Species: Lespedeza bicolor | Bicolor Lespedeza