Lespedeza
LESPEDEZA BICOLOR (_syn Desmodium penduliflorum_).--North China and
Japan. A little-known but beautiful small-growing shrub, of slender,
elegant growth, and reaching, under favourable culture, a height of
about 6 feet. The leaves are trifoliolate, small, and neat, and the
abundant racemes of individually small, Pea-shaped flowers are of the
richest and showiest reddish-purple. Being only semi-hardy will account
for the scarcity of this beautiful Japanese shrub, but having stood
uninjured in all but the coldest parts of these islands should induce
lovers of flowering shrubs to give it a fair chance.