牛枝子 niu zhi zi

Lespedeza davurica (Laxmann) Schindler subsp. potaninii (V. N. Vassiljev) C. J. Chen; L. davurica var. potaninii (V. N. Vassiljev) Y. X. Liou; L. davurica f. prostrata (W. Wang & P. Y. Fu) Kitagawa; L. davurica var. prostrata W. Wang & P. Y. Fu; L. potaninii f. breviracemi S. L. Tung & Z. Lu; L. potaninii var. breviracemi (S. L. Tung & Z. Lu) X. Y. Zhu.

Subshrubs, 20-60 cm tall. Stems procumbent or as­cending, hispid, much branched at base. Leaves 3-foliolate; leaflets narrowly oblong, rarely elliptic to broadly elliptic, ter­minal one 0.8-1.5(-2.2) × 0.3-0.5(-0.7) cm, abaxially grayish white hispid, adaxially glabrous, base slightly oblique, apex ob­tuse-rounded or emarginate, mucronate. Racemes axillary; pe­duncle long, distinctly overtopping leaves, laxly flowered. Calyx densely villous, 5-parted; lobes lanceolate, 5-8 mm, apex long acuminate, aristate. Corolla yellowish white, slightly overtop­ping calyx lobes; standard mixed with purple at middle; wings short; keel mixed with purple at apex. Cleistogamous flowers axillary, sessile or subsessile. Legume obovoid, 3-4 mm, lentic­ular, densely hispid, enclosed in persistent calyx. Fl. Jul-Sep, fr. Sep-Oct.

● Desert steppes, sandy soils of steppe zone, rocky soils, hills, rocky slopes, foot of mountains. Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu, Liao­ning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Si­chuan, Xizang, Yunnan.

This is a good plant for livestock forage. Because it can tolerate arid soils, it is grown for sand stabilization and soil conservation.

Two of us (Ohashi and Nemoto) regard Lespedeza potaninii as conspecific with L. davurica.