Chinese wisteria Fabaceae Wisteria sinensis

Leaf:Alternate, pinnately compound, 7 to 13 ovate leaflets each 2 to 4 inches long, dark green above.
Flower:Very showy, purple or white (depending on cultivar) pea-like flowers, occurring in long hanging clusters, 8 to 12 inches long, appearing with the leaves, all the flowers of one raceme opening simultaneously.
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 counter-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.
leaf flower fruit twig bark form map
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