Common Lespedeza, Japanese clover
Kummerowia striata

Family: Fabaceae or Leguminosae

What it is like

Kummerowia striata is a ANNUAL growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in). It is in flower from August to September, and the seeds ripen from October to November. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects, Cleistogomy (self-pollinating without flowers ever opening). It can fix Nitrogen. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 0.2

Where it is found

Waste ground and roadsides all over Japan. Clayey, sandy and gravelly soils, riverbanks, roadsides and non-populated areas, always in large quantities.

E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea, Manchuria.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 2

Seed - cooked. The seed can be ground into a meal and used with cereal flours in making bread etc. The seed contains 26.4 - 51.9% protein and 4.3 - 7.3% fat. Young plant - cooked. A nutritional analysis is available.

Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Medicine

Rating: 1

The whole plant is used medicinally as a diuretic, for reducing fever, and treating diarrhea. A decoction of the plant is used in the treatment of extreme physical debility and swellings. It is boiled with Centella asiatica and Prunella vulgaris for the treatment of dysentery, headache and vertigo. A broth is used to improve the appetite.

Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.

Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.

Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.

Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.

Miscellany: Various medicinal actions that need more clarification.

Other

Rating: 0

The plant is fast growing and has an extensive root system. It has been widely used, especially in N. America, for restoring fertility to worn-out soils.

Miscellany: A rag-bag of items that are difficult to categorise.

Soil reclamation: Plants that can be grown in such circumstances an the spoil tips of mines in order to restore fertility.

Nitrogen Fixer: Plants that fix nitrogen in the soil

How it is grown

We have very little information on this species but it should succeed as a spring-sown annual in Britain. See the plants native habitat for ideas on its cultivation needs. Plants sometimes produce cleistogamous flowers. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby. When removing plant remains at the end of the growing season, it is best to only remove the aerial parts of the plant, leaving the roots in the ground to decay and release their nitrogen.

Propagating it: Seed - pre-soak for 12 hours in warm water and sow in situ in mid spring.

Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;

Habit: Annual

Hardiness: 0-0

Growth:

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Hedysarum striatum. Lespedeza striata. (Thunb.)Hook.&Arn.