Common Name: Chinese Lespedeza

General Information

Lespedeza juncea is a perennial plant with erect, branched stems that can become more or less woody and persist; it can grow up to 100cm tall[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It is grown as a green manure to protect the soil and rebuild fertility.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

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Range

E. Asia - Russia (Eastern Siberia, Far East), Mongolia, northern China, Japan, Korea, Himalayas from Afghanistan to NE India

Habitat

Open or sparsely shrubby and herbaceous dry slopes with gravelly soil, riverbanks, sandy-clayey and sandy alluvial soils, rarely in dry oak groves[]. Mountain slopes and thickets; at elevations up to 1,500 metres in China[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	0.80 m
Pollinators	Insects, Cleistogamous
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Lespedeza juncea is a very cold-hardy plant, the rootstock being able to tolerate temperatures down to about -25°c when fully dormant. The top growth is much less hardy, however, and will be killed back to near the roots in all but very mild winters. However, plants will generally resprout freely from the base in the following spring and then flower in late summer[]. A long growing season is required if the seed is to ripen successfully, and a hot summer will more fully ripen the wood, thus making it more likely to survive the winter[].
Species in this genus generally grow best in a sunny position but are tolerant of some shade. They grow well in soils of a medium to light nature, tolerating dry conditions and low fertility[]. Established plants are generally more or less drought tolerant[].
The plant produces cleistogamous flowers (closed flowers that produce fertile seed without being pollinated) as well as hermaphrodite flowes that are pollinated by insects, especially bees[].
This species is related to Lespedeza sericea[].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[].

Edible Uses

Young leaves and shoots - cooked[].

Medicinal

The juice of the roots is used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is used as a green manure and cover plant to enrich the soil, restore worn-out soils and protect against erosion[].

Other Uses

The twigs are used in making brooms[].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 24 hours in warm water and then sow it in spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, mid summer in individual pots in a frame. It can be difficult to get the cuttings through their first winter, it is best to plunge the pots in a bed of ashes in a sheltered border outdoors[].