Virginia Tech Dendrology

Japanese wisteria Fabaceae Wisteria floribunda (Willd.) DC. symbol: WIFL
Leaf: Alternate, pinnately compound, 9 to 15 ovate to lanceolate leaflets each 2 to 3 inches long, dark green above.
Flower: Very showy, purple or white (depending on cultivar) pea-like flowers, occurring in long hanging clusters, to 20 inches long, appearing with the leaves, flowers of one raceme opening from base to tip.
Fruit: Finely fuzzy, pea-like pods, 3 to 6 inches long, persistent.
Twig: Slender, light brown, raised circular leaf scar, appressed triangular light brown buds, and false terminal bud.
Bark: Smooth, gray-brown, and fluted. Trunk can be quite large for a vine; older specimens can reach a foot in diameter.
Form: A climbing twining vine, reaching up to 40 feet in height often covering trees and shrubs, twines clockwise.
Special Note: W. sinensis and W. floribunda readily hybridize to form W. xformosa, and most naturalized specimens in the southeast are likely this hybrid.
Trusty, J.L., B.G. Lockaby, W.C. Zipperer, and L.R. Goertzen. 2007. Identity of natualised exotic Wisteria (Fabaceae) in the south-eastern United States. Weed Research 47: 479-487.
Looks like: Chinese wisteria

Additional Range Information: Wisteria floribunda is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and may seed into the landscape. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Fall Color
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information