Wand Lespedeza
Lespedeza violacea
Found in woodlands and woodland borders. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
70
Strong
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 3 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- July to September
- Fruiting season
- August to November
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 8 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
1 of 2
Habitats
Forest edges and thickets; forests and woodlands.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
27CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Lespedeza
- Acronicta lanceolariaNarrow-Winged Dagger, Lanceolate Dagger
- 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
Show all 27
- Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
- Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
- 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
- Anarsioses aberrans
- 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
- Flower color
- Pink or purple
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- November
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “Up to about 3 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Intermediate Lespedeza; Lespedeza intermedia
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| FL 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.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Florida (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- 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