See Also: lespedeza(dictionary)

lespedeza (iou)



lespedeza noun. L19.
[mod. Latin (see below), from (by a misreading) V. M. de Cespedes (fl. 1785), Spanish governor of eastern Florida.]
Any of various leguminous herbs and shrubs of the genus Lespedeza, native to N. America and eastern Asia; esp. a plant of this kind used in the southern US as a fodder crop and to control soil erosion. Also called bush clover, Japan clover.