What is Sericea Lespedeza?
If you own or manage native range, pasture, or Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres planted to grass in Kansas what you dont know could financially harm you, or at least wreck your profit margin. Sericea Lespedeza (Sericea), Lespedeza cuneata, more commonly known as Chinese bushclover, or a long string of unprintable superlatives, was labeled in Kansas as a noxious invasive weed in 1990. While other surrounding states still recognize Sericea as an agricultural crop or an introduced hayland species, Kansas and several of the more northern and western states see it as an ecological and economical nightmare in native rangeland. Sericea lespedeza was first tested in North Carolina in 1896. It was intentionally planted in Kansas for erosion control, wildlife habitat, and as a forage crop as early as the 1900s and again in the 1930s. Sericea is a perennial, drought resistant, legume that each year forms somewhat shrubby erect stems from a base crown or caudex. Forage quality of Sericea i
