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On the identification of Lespedeza Bicolor Options
 
drpaniq
#1 Posted : 8/18/2020 3:35:40 PM

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Intro
Due to the lack of information in english and the difficulty to identify Lesp. Bicolor even by amateur botanists and flower enthusiasts. I believe it is necessary to have detailed information on the identification of this plant.
I am not a botanist, but I have been struggling to find, identify and grow this plant. And it had been very challenging. So this document condenses all the knowledge and the empirical information I have gathered during this months growing the plant by myself and looking for it in parks and in the wild.
(I will try to write this document with the least amount of botanic lingo I can)

Lespedeza Bicolor is a shrub that naturally grows in mountains. During summer it grows very fast, drops its leaves in autumn and hibernates during winter. In Japan is known as (ヤマハギ or Yamagahi, that means herb or flowers in the mountains).

In Asia, the Lespedeza Bicolor is very difficult to differentiate from other plants of the same genus, because many of them really look alike. With similar flower shape and color, similar leaves shape, similar growing seasons and size. So, you need to consider several different factors in order to correctly identify a Lespedeza Bicolor.

The most important factors to identify a Lespedeza Bicolor are: the Inflorescence length, the leaves and its standing shape

1) Long inflorescence
The easiest time to identify a Lespedeza Bicolor is in summer and early autumn, when the plant is getting ready to grow flowers. This is because the most easy characteristic to distinguish a Lespedeza Bicolor is by the length of its inflorescence peduncle compared to the length of its petiole.
The inflorescence is the small tree like structure or stem that connects and supports the flowers on the plant's branch. The peduncle is the stem that connects the branch with the first flower. And the petiole is the little stem that connects the leaves with the branch. On, Lesp. Bicolor the inflorescences peduncles are considerably longer than the petioles, and most of them are even longer than the leaves themselves. Also in Lespedeza Bicolor the inflorescence always grows from the “armpit” of the petiole. Also the flowers in Lesp. Bicolor have an intense magenta color, while in other species have a similar color and are less intense.



2) Shape of the leaves
In general to identify a Lespedeza from other shrubs you can check the growing pattern of its leaves. Lespedezas always have 3 leaves growing on the same stem.

The leaves of Lespedeza Bicolor, as its name says, have different colors on the front and back of the leaves. Usually, the front of the leaf is a clear green, while the back of the leaf is a little bit more obscure or gray green. The easiest way to see this difference is by taking a branch and contrast the back of the brack with the rest of the shrub. Although, several other Lespedezas have a similar change of tonality on the back of their leaves, so it can be confused if only this characteristic is considered.



Also Lespedeza Bicolor has round oval leaves, more wider than longer. Usually the end of the leaves is not so pointy. And exactly at the end of the leave you can find a very tiny hairy protuberance. Also, if you bring some magnification lens you can see that the back of the young leaves have lots of tiny hairs.
Young branches on other types of Lespedezas (like Lespedeza thunbergii) also have the same kind of oval leaves, so also check the shape of the leaves at the base of the shrub. These should be also oval and not so pointy. If you see sharp or thin leaves then it is not a Bicolor.

Something very particular on Bicolor is that on old or tall shrubs, the leaves pattern of the younger and longer branches grow in a beautiful fractal shape. The leaves start to grow in rotating triads very close to the main branch, while their longer inflorescences pop out from the main branch. And their leaves start to be a little bit more round at the ends displaying the shape of a heart.



Although, please pay attention to Lespedeza cyrtobotrya that also have the same rotating triad growing patterns and the same heart shaped leaves. But, different from Bicolor, Lesp. cyrtobotrya has very short inflorescences. Also in cyrtobotrya almost all the leaves have a hollow heart shape eding, while in Lesp. Bicolor only the youngest branches present heart shaped leaves with rotating triad patterns.



Also Lespedeza thunbergii has very long inflorescences. But, different from Bicolor, thunbergii has very thin, greener and pointy leaves.



3. Standing position.
This is not exact, but usually compared to other Lespedeza shrubs (in a botanical garden full of Lespedezas) Lespedeza Bicolor usually tends to grow more straight and taller (around 3 meters). This can be a good way to identify a Lespedeza Bicolor from a long distance, but it is not a precise rule, because also many Lespedezas Bicolor tend to stand low, below 1.50 meters with a lot of fallen branches.

In Resume
The best season to identify a Lespedeza Bicolor is in summer and early autumn during the flowering season. When you have all the elements to identify the Lespedeza Bicolor: the inflorescence size, the oval-round shape and color of the leaves and the standing position.

In winter it is almost impossible to identify a Lespedeza from any other deciduous shrub. So if you buy or suspect of Lespedeza, please be patient and wait for the plant to grow or develop leaves and flowers again.

How to Grow.
It likes very drained and dry soils. Several growing guides mentions that the plant is very strong to pests and sickness. But I have found that these plants are very weak to fungi infections, especially to fungi that thrive in hot and humid conditions.
So, if you buy seedlings of this plant, use a very drained soil and protect the plant against fungi infections, using an organic copper based fungicide and apply it before humid and hot conditions. As the Lesp. Bicolor name in Japanese says, this plant likes to grow in the mountains, where the air is dryer and water drains easily through the mountain slope. Those are the ideal conditions for this plant.

In my personal experience with the plant. It doesn't need too much water. I had 3 seedlings bought from a store, all of them developed a fungi infection. So, I had to apply a chemical fungicide to save my plants. Maybe due to the fungi infection, none of them developed any flowers or seeds during the first year. But, by looking at other young Lesp. Bicolor in the wild, I guess it takes time for the plant to develop flowers and seeds.

Since, I haven't been able to see any inflorescences growing in my plants.I am not totally sure yet that it is a Lespedeza Bicolor or some other Lespedeza, because I was not able to compare all the mentioned characteristics yet.

 

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downwardsfromzero
#2 Posted : 8/19/2020 2:51:33 PM

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Very nice post, thanks for doing this.

Do you have anything to add on the distinction between L. bicolor ssp. bicolor and L. bicolor ssp. japonica? As I believe, only one of them is confirmed for the presence of alkaloids.




“There is a way of manipulating matter and energy so as to produce what modern scientists call 'a field of force'. The field acts on the observer and puts him in a privileged position vis-à-vis the universe. From this position he has access to the realities which are ordinarily hidden from us by time and space, matter and energy. This is what we call the Great Work."
― Jacques Bergier, quoting Fulcanelli
 
drpaniq
#3 Posted : 8/19/2020 4:20:59 PM

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Thank you for your response.

From my understanding Lespedeza Japonica or Niponica is just a name of a Lespedeza thunbergii sub-species. It seems that the same plant was given different names Japan and Occident.

Lespedeza thunbergii (DC.) Nakai subsp. thunbergii 'Nipponica' (Japan)
Lespedeza nipponica Nakai (Japan)
Lespedeza japonica L.H. Bailey 'Nipponica' (Occident)

It is also commonly named ニシキハギ Nishikihagi in Japan. And it is grown in a lot of Buddhist temples.

The same as Lesp. Bicolor Lesp. Thunbergii has very long inflorescence. But to tell the difference just pay attention to the leaves on the base of the shrub, if you look pointy or very thin leaves then IT IS NOT a Bicolor. It is highly probable that it is a Thunbergii.



 
drpaniq
#4 Posted : 8/19/2020 4:23:17 PM

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I can bet anything that the Lespedeza of this video IS NOT a Bicolor. The leaves of the shurb in that video are simply to big and pointy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VSLXqEE4xg

In Lespedeza Bicolor leaves are round and young leaves always look very fragile.
 
downwardsfromzero
#5 Posted : 8/19/2020 7:24:56 PM

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One further question: how does the appearance of the seeds of the bicolor compare with that of the thunbergii 'Nipponica'?




“There is a way of manipulating matter and energy so as to produce what modern scientists call 'a field of force'. The field acts on the observer and puts him in a privileged position vis-à-vis the universe. From this position he has access to the realities which are ordinarily hidden from us by time and space, matter and energy. This is what we call the Great Work."
― Jacques Bergier, quoting Fulcanelli
 
drpaniq
#6 Posted : 8/20/2020 7:18:51 AM

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I tried to find some information online but I could not find any.

The only way to answer your question is to wait until autumn to pick some samples of both species and show you here some photos.

I am pretty sure that the seeds you can find in bulk, in online American Agriculture sites are not Lesp. Bicolor seeds. Because even in Japan Lespedeza Bicolor is a rare species and it seems more fragile than other Lesp. shrubs.

Since everybody buys Lesp. in those kind of sites, to have this information seems to be valuable too.
 
downwardsfromzero
#7 Posted : 8/21/2020 4:18:58 PM

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Thanks for looking. This is now on my infinite list of stuff to check - alkaloid content of various Lespedeza spp.

But doesn't this mean that the one with alkaloids of interest is in fact the thunbergii 'Nipponica'?

Ott lists references: Gotu et al., Yakugaku Zasshi 78 (5): 464-467 (195Cool; Morimoto & Matsumoto, Justus Liebigs Annalen der Chemie 692: 194-199 (1966); Morimoto & Oshio, Justus Liebigs Annalen der Chemie 682: 212-218 (1965).

So is this 'wrong' (mislabeled) one that's available in fact the 'right' (active) one? How would other varieties of L. thunbergii compare for alkaloid content?




“There is a way of manipulating matter and energy so as to produce what modern scientists call 'a field of force'. The field acts on the observer and puts him in a privileged position vis-à-vis the universe. From this position he has access to the realities which are ordinarily hidden from us by time and space, matter and energy. This is what we call the Great Work."
― Jacques Bergier, quoting Fulcanelli
 
drpaniq
#8 Posted : 8/23/2020 5:42:40 AM

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Yes, it would be nice to have such information. Since Lespedezas are so similar between each other I recommend to take a photo before cut the plant.

From Trout's notes, It seems that the most interesting one is Lesp Bicolor (var nipponica). From Japanese botanic books, I can see that Lesp. Bicolor do not have varieties (like, Lesp. Bicolor var nipponica) it is just Lespedeza Bicolor. The only one that is called var. Nipponica or Japonica is Lespedeza Thunbergii. And since Japanese are more used to identify their own plants, I trust more to Japanese identification than the name is mentioned in Trout's notes.
Also, Japanese forums mention the use of Lesp. Bicolor, or Yamahagi, as a Ayahuasca analog. So by crossing sources of information it seems that the most likely plant is Lesp. Bicolor and not Lespedeza Thunbergii.
On the other hand, these two plants are very difficult to identify which is which, so there could be a confusion.

In terms of chemical analysis, I am a total newbie. Reading those kind of papers in Japanese is totally out of my league. I am not really sure if Thunbergii or Bicolor is the 'right' one or not. I only know that a correct identification of the plants is crucial for the analysis results publication. So that is why I am working on this guide.
 
ordin
#9 Posted : 12/26/2020 6:33:57 AM
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Thank you very much for sharing your work about Lespedeza bicolor identification. I have spent some time observing several different kind of ハギ (Hagi) in Japan, and your review is very helpful to avoid confusion between the many lookalike species.

Indeed, Lespedeza Bicolor seeds seem to have a very interesting biochemistry, in addition to 5MeO-DMT .
From Garden of Eden (Snu Voogelbreinder) p215 :
Quote:
unripe seeds contain the amino acid canavanine [see Canavalia], as well as orientin, homoorien-tin, quercetin, isoquercetin, kaempferol [MAOI (Sloley et al. 2000)], tri-folin, and 6 other flavonoids (Glyzin et al. 1971; International... 1994).


Have you moved forward in your research since your last post? I would be very happy to follow it and contribute.

Also, regarding the law, I am not sure what would make an extraction illegal as long as the plant material and the solvent used remain in the legal field, and that you have no intent in using the resulting compound to "get high".

Ps : This is actually my first post but I have been reading this forum for years. It is just that the level of technical knowledge is usually higher than mine, so I did not get any good opportunity to contribute so far.


 
 
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