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Roundhead Lespedeza

Lespedeza capitata

Found in woodlands and woodland borders, wet meadows, fens, prairies, barrens. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

69
Strong

Native to West Virginia. 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?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
August to October
Fruiting season
September to November

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 4 West 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 5

Prairies and grasslands

Barrens native plants returning after prescribed fire, September 2020
Barrens grassland after a prescribed fire. Shown: Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Barrens native plants returning after prescribed fire, September 2020, NPS Photo / Rick Olson, September 2020. Public domain. Source record.

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

Forests and woodlands

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

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

Mountain bogs and fens

Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

22CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · 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 lyciadesHoary Edge
  • Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
  • Choristoneura obsoletanaObsolete Leafroller
  • Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
  • Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
Show all 22
  • Dasylophia anguinaBlack-Spotted Prominent
  • Epargyreus clarusSilver-Spotted Skipper
  • 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
  • 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

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
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Round Head Lespedeza

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS1
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Growing cautions

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources