Kummerowia stipulacea: Korean Clover

Kummerowia stipulacea, commonly known as Korean Clover or Korean Lespedeza, is a warm-season annual legume native to East Asia. It has an upright to spreading habit with trifoliate leaves and produces small, pink to purple, pea-like flowers in the leaf axils from mid-summer to fall. It is often used as a forage crop, cover crop, and for soil improvement due to its nitrogen-fixing ability. It can also naturalize in disturbed areas, roadsides, and fields.

Plant Profile

Korean Clover grows best in full sun and well-drained soils, tolerating drought and low fertility once established. As a legume, it hosts rhizobium bacteria to fix atmospheric nitrogen, enriching the soil for subsequent crops. It is commonly planted in wildlife food plots for quail and deer, and as a green manure in crop rotations. It reseeds readily and can become weedy in some contexts.