Lespedeza fasciculiflora Franchet is currently divided into two varieties, var. fasciculiflora and var. hengduanshanensis C.J. Chen. A detailed comparison of the plants from wild populations and specimens of the two varieties revealed that var. hengduanshanensis was sufficiently distinct from var. fasciculiflora to be recognized as a separate species. Our phylogenetic analysis based on DNA sequences, moreover, showed that the two varieties are not even closely related. We therefore here elevate the status of L. fasciculiflora var.