Roundhead Lespedeza
Lespedeza capitata
Found in woodlands and woodland borders, wet meadows, fens, prairies, barrens. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
70
Strong
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 2–5 feet
- Spread
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- August to October
- Fruiting season
- September to November
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 36 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
1 of 3
Habitats
Forest edges and thickets; forests and woodlands; wet meadows; mountain bogs and fens; prairies and grasslands.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
26CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Lespedeza
- Adelphia petrellaRusty-Banded Adelphia
- Aristotelia roseosuffusellaPink-Washed Aristotelia
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Caenurgina erechteaClover Looper Moth, Common Grass Moth, Forage Looper
- Cecropterus bathyllusSouthern Cloudywing
- Cecropterus confusisConfusing Cloudywing, Confused Cloudy Wing
- Cecropterus lyciadesHoary Edge
- Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
- Choristoneura obsoletanaObsolete Leafroller
- Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
Show all 26
- Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
- Dasylophia anguinaBlack-Spotted Prominent
- Diphthera festivaHieroglyphic Moth
- Epargyreus clarusSilver-Spotted Skipper
- Gesta zaruccoZarucco Duskywing
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
- Pococera scortealisLaspedeza Webworm
- Ptichodis herbarumCommon Ptichodis
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Triclonella pergandeellaSweetclover Root Borer, Bush-Clover Triclonella
- Utetheisa ornatrixOrnate Moth, Pink Underwing, Rattlebox Moth, Bella Moth
- Cosmopterix attenuatella
- Porphyrosela desmodiella
16BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Lespedeza
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Lespedeza
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- Flower color
- Yellow or white
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Growth habit
- Several stems
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- September
- Fruit ends
- November
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “August to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Slow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “2–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry; Very dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Spread · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Round Head Lespedeza
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Growing cautions
- Spreads slowly. Spreads by rhizomes and spreads slowly by re-seeding. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications