PlantFiles: Round Headed Bush Clover
Lespedeza capitata

I have not grown this plant. The round headed bush clover
(Lespedeza capitata) has a yellowish-white to white corolla with a purple spot on the standard. Its ovate-oblong, pubescent seedpod (seed pod) is about half as long as the calyx-lobes.

The flowers are visited primarily by long- or short-tongued bees, such as bumblebees, large Leaf-Cutting bees, Andrenid bees, and others. Butterflies may suck nectar from the flowers, but they are not effective pollinators. The caterpillars of several species of skippers feed on the foliage, including Thorybes bathyllus (Southern Cloudywing), Thorybes pylades (Northern Cloudywing), Achalarus lyciades (Hoary Edge), and Epargyreus clarus (Silver-Spotted Skipper). The caterpillars of several moths also feed on the foliage, including Utetheisa bella (Bella Moth), Dasylophia anguina (Black-Spotted Prominent), and Ptichodis herbarum (Common Ptichodis). Other insects feeding on this plant include Everes comyntas (Eastern-Tailed Blue), Tetralopha scortealis (Lespedeza Webworm), Pachybrachis carbonarius (Leaf Beetle sp.), Calomycterus setarius (Imported Long-Horned Beetle), and various Alydus spp. (Broad-Headed Bugs). Because it is high in protein and palatable, many mammalian herbivores eat the plant during different growth stages, including deer, rabbits, groundhogs, and livestock. An overpopulation of these animals may interfere with this plant's establishment. The seeds are eaten primarily by upland gamebirds, including the Mourning Dove, Bobwhite, and Wild Turkey. During the winter, the seeds are eaten by the Slate-Colored Junco.

This is a robust and beneficial plant, although not particularly showy. It is fairly easy to distinguish this plant from other members of the Bean family, such as the tick trefoils and other bush clovers, by the stout bristly flowerheads and their small white flowers. However, there is some variability in the appearance of this plant across different localities.