Lespedeza bicolor is a loose, open, deciduous shrub or sub-shrub that rapidly grows to 5-10’ tall and as wide. It is commonly called bush clover because it is a shrubby plant with clover-like flowers. Primary ornamental features are trifoliate, dark green leaves (elliptic leaflets to 2” long) and drooping racemes (to 5” long) of rose-purple, pea-like flowers that bloom both at the stem tips and in the upper leaf axils in late summer. ‘Little Buddy’ is a compact form that grows upright to 3’ tall. It features a less aggressive growth rate than the species. Pea-shaped flowers are an attractive purple and bloom in summer. Trifoliate leaves are dark green changing to yellow in fall. ‘Little Buddy’ is sometime sold in commerce as a cultivar of Lespedeza thunbergii.