lespedeza

[les-pi-dee-zuh]

noun

any shrub or herb belonging to the genus Lespedeza, of the legume family, having trifoliolate leaves and lavender flowers, grown for forage, soil improvement, etc.

Origin of lespedeza

< New Latin (1803), after V. M. de Zespedez (misread as Lespedez), 18th-century Spanish governor of East Florida

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

During the following winter the stumps are removed, and then in spring the land is plowed and Lespedeza seed sown.
Florida: An Ideal Cattle State
Florida State Live Stock Association
Enough Bermuda has grown in the furrows to insure a stand of Bermuda, and this is supplemented by the Lespedeza.
Florida: An Ideal Cattle State
Florida State Live Stock Association
Indeed, the first season the Lespedeza will furnish more pasturage than the Bermuda.
Florida: An Ideal Cattle State
Florida State Live Stock Association
Lespedeza is rather a tricky plant in Florida and is hardly worth consideration except in the northern part of the State.
Florida: An Ideal Cattle State
Florida State Live Stock Association
Miyagi is the name of a field which is famous for the Hagi or Lespedeza, a small and pretty shrub, which blooms in the Autumn.
Japanese Literature
Various