Japanese name: マルバハギ（円葉萩、丸葉萩） Scientific name:Lespedeza cyrtobotrya
[Overview]
A deciduous subshrub reaching 1.5 m tall, commonly found in sunny mountain areas.
The leaves are alternate and compound, made up of 3 leaflets, which are elliptic to obovate and 2–4 cm long.
The upper surface of the leaves is hairless, and the underside has appressed hairs.
The leaf tips are often notched.
The leaf margins are entire.
Racemes arise from the leaf axils and are shorter than the basal leaves.
The flowers are reddish purple and pea-shaped.
The tips of the calyx lobes extend into needle-like points and are longer than the calyx tube.
The pods do not split open even when ripe.
[Cultivation]
It prefers sun and is easy to grow, thriving even in poor or dry ground as long as the soil is not overly wet.
It is cold-hardy, but most of the aboveground part dies back in winter, so cut it back to ground level so that new branches grow the following year.
Transplanting is easy as long as it is done while the plant is leafless.
