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Slender Lespedeza

Lespedeza virginica

Found in longleaf pine sandhills, woodlands, and woodland borders. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

70
Strong

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
3–6 feet
Spread
4–10 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Dry to somewhat dry

Space about 7 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count

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At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
Summer and fall
Fruiting season
August to November

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 88 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 117 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

25CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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 25
  • Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
  • Dasylophia anguinaBlack-Spotted Prominent
  • Epargyreus clarusSilver-Spotted Skipper
  • Gesta zaruccoZarucco Duskywing
  • Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
  • Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
  • Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
  • Ptichodis herbarumCommon Ptichodis
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Stilbosis tesquellaHog-Peanut Leaf-Sewer
  • Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
  • Triclonella pergandeellaSweetclover Root Borer, Bush-Clover Triclonella
  • Utetheisa ornatrixOrnate Moth, Pink Underwing, Rattlebox Moth, Bella Moth
  • Cosmopterix lespedezae
  • Porphyrosela desmodiella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Adult butterflies / moths 1
  • Limochores taumas

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Fabaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic to alkaline
Flower color
Pink, purple or red
Fruit begins
August
Fruit ends
November

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Slender Bush Clover

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources