| Description | Gibraltar Bush Clover (Lespedeza thunbergii) produces masses of purple-pink flowers causing the flowering branches of this plant to arch over. Treated as a woody shrub in warmer regions and a herbaceous perennial in the colder regions. |
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| Pronunciation | (les-pe-DE-za)(thun-BER-je-eye) |
| Plant Type | Perennials Hardy, Shrubs Deciduous |
| Hardiness Zone | 5-8 |
| Sunlight | full, some shade |
| Moisture | average, tolerates dryness once established |
| Soil & Site | average, good drainge |
| Temperature | foliage will die back in he colder climates and the plant is often treated as a herbaceous perennial ( in zone 7b it dies almost completely to the ground (Dirr) |
| Flowers | rosy purple pea shaped flowers in up to 6 inch racemes, racemes, flowering stems are so heavy that the plant arches down |
| Leaves | alternate, trifoliate, bluish-green |
| Dimensions | 4-5 by 5-10 feet (HS), the flowers are heavy causing the plant to be fountain shaped |
| Maintenance | in the colder regions cut back to 6 inches in the spring or late fall |
| Misc Facts | Genus name honors Vicente Manuel de Cespedes, Spanish Governor of West Florida from 1784 to 1790. Genus honors Carl Peter Thunberg (1743-1828), Swedish naturalist, who collected plants in this species in Japan in 1775-76. |
| Notes & Reference | #01-Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (Michael Dirr), #144-Missouri Botanical Gardens web site (www.missouribotanicalgarden.org), #226-Shrubs and Vines for American Gardens (Donald Wyman) |
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