Lespedeza procumbens is a perennial herb, 0.3-1.2 m long, stems hairy, trailing or reclining, densely, soft-hairy.
Leaves alternate, 3-parted, leaf stalks shorter than leaflets, leaflets 0.8-2.5 cm long, to 1 cm wide, egg-shaped, to elliptic, tip and base rounded, appressed hairy at least below.
Flowers of two kinds: those with purple petals, pea-flower-shaped, to 0.8 cm, in unbranched clusters of 8-12, on a stalk to 12 cm long, and closed, self-pollinating flowers without petals in stalkless, axillary clusters, flower stalks longer than leaves; blooms Aug.-Sept. (Hough 1983).
Fruit dry, hairy, almost round, to 0.7 cm wide, 1-seeded; fruits Sept-Oct. (Hough 1983).
Wetland status: UPL.
Frequency in NYC: Very infrequent.
Origin: Native.
Habitat: Dry woods, sandy or rocky soil.