Ms. Banai was kind enough to answer my e-mail query, but does not know if Lespedeza and Desmodium species can cross-polinate. She forwarded my note to another person for comment, but there's been no reply to date. I may see if our state Botanists want me to collect and press a specimen, since this plant is so unusual.

thx much for that info.When i'm down there in a few wks for my pick up, if theirs looks great, for some reason [zone?] i'll consider it, but sounds pretty bad. Our gardens are so jam packed that 'looks weedy' is the defining thing that would keep me from growing a plant. These pea family plants must be pretty easy to hybridize; there are alot of lespedeza cultivars out there. I finally found a tag for one of mine- Pink Fountain. Very late (like maybe Oct) while the un- i.d.'ed one i have has been steady blooming awhile now, in 90% shade too! I hope i can focus enough for a hands- on lesson from the Br Arrow guys in HOW to tell the diff between lespedeza and indigofera foliage.

Do any of you grow Lespedeza bicolor? Searching on This Forum yields zero (but much discussion on Entire Site - usually (?) a fall bloomer). The one I saw today at Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo is a huge bush in beautiful full bloom (zillions of little red-ish flowers.

You can't buy them because they are a native plant. There is a conspiracy against native plants. Besides it would be more fun to collect seeds yourself. Look for a disturbed area in an oak-pine forest. There should be lots of sunlight, dry soil, and perhaps sassafras trees nearby. Round-headed bush-clover should be easy to find. I have also seen them growing on piles of dirt next to a construction site. In Concord, New Hampshire.