lespedeza

[ les-pi-dee-zuh ]

noun

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of lespedeza¹

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

Example Sentences

Lespedeza sericea planted between the trees yields 2½ tons per acre annually.

From Project Gutenberg

The lespedeza hay will sell for about $12 per ton and the lespedeza seed for about $3 per bushel.

From Project Gutenberg

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.

From Project Gutenberg

During the following winter the stumps are removed, and then in spring the land is plowed and Lespedeza seed sown.

From Project Gutenberg

Enough Bermuda has grown in the furrows to insure a stand of Bermuda, and this is supplemented by the Lespedeza.

From Project Gutenberg