Korean lespedeza
(Kummerowia stipulacea (Maxim.) Makino)

Overview

Appearance

Kummerowia stipulacea is an annual freely branching herbaceous plant with upward pointing hairs. The plant can be procumbent to erect and can reach up to 24 in. (61 cm) in height. It has shallow taproots.

Foliage

Leaves are alternate, trifoliate, petiolate and up to 0.75 in. (4 cm) long.

Flowers

Flowers are pink, purple and white, 0.2-0.3 in. (5-8 mm) long and occur either singly or in groups of up to 5 in a spike-like raceme.

Fruit

Fruits are 0.2 in. (4 mm) long legumes and each contain a single seed.

Ecological Threat

K. stipulacea occurs in old fields, roadsides, grasslands, mountain slopes, stable or semistable sand dunes. It is native to Korea and was introduced into the United States and has become established in natural areas.

Selected Images

Maps

Invasive Listing Sources

• Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council - Category 4
• Indiana Invasive Species Council - Invasive Plant List
• Invasive Plant Species of West Virginia
• Jil M. Swearingen, Survey of invasive plants occurring on National Park Service lands, 2000-2007
• Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council - Severe Threat
• National Park Service, Mid-Atlantic Exotic Plant Management Team Invasive Plant List
• New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team 2017 Invasive Species List
• Non-Native Invasive Plants of Arlington County, Virginia
• Nonnative Invasive Species in Southern Forest and Grassland Ecosystems
• WeedUS - Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States
• West Virginia Native Plant Society, Flora West Virginia Project, and West Virginia Curatorial Database System, September 3, 1999

References