SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS 



35 



sericea seed they ate it freely and that it is a valuable late winter 

 food. Further evidence of this use of sericea seed has been ob- 

 tained in Virginia by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 



Along margins of woods (fig. 13), on banks too steep for cul- 

 tivation, in gullies, and in other places subject to erosion sericea 

 may well be planted for no other purpose than to encourage wild- 

 life by providing cover and food. Even in such places the first 

 growth may often be cut for hay and the second allowed to produce 

 seed without damaging in the least its part in erosion control and 

 wildlife preservation. 



J ' ' - - * ' i. ■ : ' 

 Figure 13. — Sericea for wildlife on the margin of a wood. 



SERICEA, A SELF-MULCHING CROP 



From the soil conservation and soil improvement standpoint, 

 one of the most valuable characteristics of sericea is its self- 

 mulching habit. In good stands, sericea invariably shades itself 

 to the extent that vast numbers of lower leaves are shed during 

 the growing season to form a protective mat on the surface of 

 the soil. Depending on the manner of harvesting the crop, the 

 mat of leaf residue on the ground may accumulate at the rate of 

 one-half to 2 tons per acre per year. Maximum accumulations 

 have been measured amounting to 14 tons per acre 13 of leaf litter 



13 Adams, William E., A Preliminary Report of Sericea Lespedeza Ground 

 Cover Studies with Related Data and Observations. (U.S.D.A.-S.C.S. Mimeo- 

 graphed Publication.) Southern Piedmont Cons. Expt. Sta., Watkinsville, Ga. 

 Jan. 1, 1947. 5 pp. 



