Lespedeza davidii var. exalata L. H. Lou; L. hupehensis Ricker; L. merrillii Ricker.

Shrubs, erect, 1-3 m tall. Branchlets distinctly angular, densely villous. Leaves 3-foliolate; petiole 1-4 cm, densely his­pidulous; leaflets broadly ovate or broadly obovate, terminal one 3.5-7(-13) × 2.5-5(-8) cm, both surfaces densely yel­lowish white sericeous, base rounded or broadly cuneate, apex rounded or emarginate. Racemes axillary or in panicles at apex of branchlets, longer than leaves; peduncle 4-7 cm, densely villous. Calyx ca. 6 mm, 5-lobed, villous; lobes lanceolate, acu­minate, more than 2 × as long as tube. Corolla reddish purple; standard obovate-oblong, 1-1.1 cm × ca. 5 mm, auriculate, shortly clawed; wings narrowly oblong, shorter than standard and keel, auriculate, slenderly clawed; keel petals slightly fal­cate, subequal to standard, distinctly auriculate and clawed. Ovary densely hairy. Legume ovoid, 8-10 mm, somewhat densely sericeous, reticulate veined. Fl. Jul-Sep, fr. Sep-Oct. 2n = 22*.

Because this species tolerates arid soils, it is used for soil conser­vation.

Lespedeza merrillii was described from Zhejiang (Lingnan Sci. J. 20: 202. 1942). Its description is based on a single specimen (C. Y. Chiao 14377). Ricker said that this species is nearest to L. davidii but distinguished from it by the sparsely appressed, instead of velvety, pubescence of the stems and longer calyx teeth. One of us (Huang), following Li and Chen (FRPS 41: 140. 1995), retains L. merrillii here in synonymy due to the lack of specimens. Two of us (Ohashi and Nemoto) regard this species as merely a glabrous form of L. davidii.

● Arid mountain slopes, roadsides, thickets; ca. 800 m. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, ?Hubei, Hunan, Jiang­su, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang [naturalized in Japan].