Relatives
Kummerovia stipulacea (Maxim.) Makino. - Stipule kummerovia
Taxonomic position.
Family Fabaceae Lindl. Genus Kummerovia Schindl.Synonym:
Lespedeza stipulacea Maxim.Morphology and biology.
This species is an annual plant with wide branches; 8-25 cm tall. Stem is bare; branches are rarely covered with bristles. Leaves are tripled. Leaflets above are directly cut off or with small dredging and with sharp end, which is the continuation of the main vein; leaflets below are cuneiforms. White bristles are located on main vein and on edges of leaflets. Leaflets are closely packed on fruit-bearing branches. Stalks are short, about 2 mm long, pubescent. Stipules are large, ovate, pointed, 4-6 mm long; young ones have pale green color, then turn brown. Flowers are auxiliary, 1-2. The calyx is pale green, wide-campanulate, five-separate, 1 mm long, with fine, ciliate, scaly shares. There are 4 bracts, larger in size than the calyx lobe. The corolla above is dark violet, up to 7 mm long. The vexillum is shorter than the keel, with a deltoid form and 2 violet spots at the base. Wings are narrowly lanceolate, almost equal in size to the vexillum. Keel is dull, with dark violet spots above. Stamens are diadelphous. The pod is covered with tripled hairs up to 3 mm in length, 3-4 times longer than the calyx. Seeds are 2 mm long and have an almost black color when mature. Blossoms in June, July and the beginning of August; fructifies in September.Distribution.
The distribution area includes Japan and China (Manchuria, Korea, Northern China, central and southern Japan). Within the former USSR, the species occurs in the Far East (Zeya, Bureinsky and Ussurijsky regions).Ecology.
This species grows in river sand, among pebbles, and on crushed-stone hillsides.Use and economic value.
It is cultivated in many countries as a valuable fodder plant. It is also known as Korean clover.Reference citations:
Cherepanov S.K. 1995. Plantae Vasculares Rossicae et Civitatum Collimitanearum (in limics USSR olim) [List of Vascular Plants of Russia]. St. Petersburg: Mir I Semia. 990 pp. (In Russian)Kharkevich S.S., ed. 1989. Vascular plants of the Soviet Far East. Vol. 4. Leningrad: Nauka. 380 p. (In Russian)
Shishkin, B.K. & E.G. Bobrov, eds. 1948. Flora of the USSR. Vol. 13. Moscow-Leningrad: Publishing House of Acad. Science. 383-384 p. (In Russian)