Wisteria sinensis

Wisteria sinensis clings to supporting plants or man-made structures by counterclockwise-twining stems. The leaves are shiny, green, pinnately compound, 10–30 cm in length, with 9-13 oblong leaflets that are each 2–6 cm long.

The flowers are white, violet, or blue, produced on 15–20 cm racemes before the leaves emerge in spring. The flowers on each raceme open simultaneously before the foliage has expanded, and have a distinctive fragrance similar to that of grapes. Though it has shorter racemes than Wisteria floribunda (Japanese wisteria), it often has a higher quantity of racemes.

The fruit is a flattened, brown, velvety, bean-like pod 5–10 cm long with thick disk-like seeds around 1 cm in diameter spaced evenly inside; they mature in summer and crack and twist open to release the seeds; the empty pods often persist until winter. However seed production is often low, and most regenerative growth occurs through layering and suckering.

All parts of the plant contain a glycoside called wisterine which is toxic if ingested and may cause nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, and diarrhea. Wisterias have caused poisoning in children of many countries, producing mild to severe gastroenteritis.

Image:Tsubo-en Wisteria seasons-356x267-Opt.gif

Image:Wisteria sinensis weed.jpg

Wisteria sinensis was unknown in the west before 1816, when several agents of the East India Company working in China sent cuttings back to England.{{cite web | url=https://parksandgardensuk.wordpress.com/2014/08/02/wisteria/ | title=Wisteria... | publisher=Parks & Gardens UK | date=2014-02-08 | access-date=2017-06-05 | archive-date=2017-07-09 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709072227/https://parksandgardensuk.wordpress.com/2014/08/02/wisteria/ | url-status=dead }} Over the next several decades the plant became, and remains, one of the quintessential ornamental vines in temperate gardens worldwide. A 200-year-old specimen, growing at Griffin's Brewery in Chiswick, London, is often cited as the UK's oldest living wisteria plant.{{cite web|url=http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/local/hounslowchiswick/8154488.Battle_to_save_historic_wisteria/ |title=Battle to save historic wisteria (From Your Local Guardian) |date=10 May 2010 |publisher=Yourlocalguardian.co.uk |access-date=2015-07-30}}{{cite web| url=https://www.fullers.co.uk/blog/brewery-articles/wisteria | title=The oldest wisteria in England | publisher=www.fullers.co.uk| date=2015-05-06 | access-date=2017-06-05}}

It has become an invasive species in some areas of the eastern United States{{cite web|url=http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=WISI|title=Wisteria sinensis (Sims) DC.|publisher=Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture|access-date=December 13, 2014}} where the climate closely matches that of China.

Wisteria sinensis is most commonly trained along garden walls, along the exterior of buildings, or over a pergola to create avenues of overhanging blossoms during bloom. It may also be trained as a freestanding tree.

Chinese wisteria is more sensitive to cold than American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens) and Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda). Although root hardy to USDA Zone 5 (-20 Fahrenheit), the vine can suffer serious dieback during such cold snaps. Moreover, the frequency of spring frosts in Zones 5 and 6 can kill latent flower buds, so that the plant might only bloom sporadically.

A one-acre (4,000 m²) specimen Sierra Madre Wisteria, located in Sierra Madre, California is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's largest blossoming plant.Palma, Claudia (March 10, 2016). [http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/lifestyle/20160310/what-to-know-if-youre-heading-to-sierra-madres-wistaria-festival What to know if you're heading to Sierra Madre's Wistaria Festival]. Retrieved August 21, 2016.[https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/81493-largest-blossoming-plant It was planted in 1892 and by 1994 had branches measuring 152 m (500 ft) long, covered an area of 0.4 ha (1 acre) and weighed 220 tonnes (48,500 lb).]

A white-flowering cultivar, Wisteria sinensis 'Alba', was discovered in a garden by botanist Robert Fortune in 1844, from which he took cuttings for the Royal Horticultural Society.

In addition to the white 'Alba', 'Prolific' features the classic purple flowers, but in greater abundance with larger racemes. It also blooms at an earlier age than the traditional cultivar.{{cite web| url=http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=d201| title=Wisteria sinensi 'Prolific'| publisher=Missouribotanicalgarden.org| access-date=2017-11-29}} The variety 'Amethyst' has deeper colored reddish violet flowers that are extremely fragrant.{{Cite book|title=Wisterias : a comprehensive guide|last=Peter.|first=Valder|date=1995|publisher=Timber Press|isbn=0881923184|location=Portland, Or.|oclc=32647814}}

The cultivars 'Prolific',{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/84032/Wisteria-sinensis-Prolific/Details

| title = Wisteria sinensis 'Prolific' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 18 February 2019}} 'Amethyst'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/65887/i-Wisteria-sinensis-i-Amethyst/Details | title = Wisteria sinensis 'Amethyst' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 18 February 2019}} and 'Jako'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/155313/i-Wisteria-sinensis-i-f-i-alba-i-Jako/Details | title = Wisteria sinensis f. alba 'Jako' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 18 February 2019}} have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 108 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 18 February 2019}}

Wisteria sinensis tronco enredado detalle.JPG|Contorted trunks

Wisteria Sinensis prolific recto feuille.jpg|Single leaf

Wisteria sinensis 2.JPG|Flowers

Wisteria sinensis (Frucht).png|Seed pods

Wisteria sinensis (Sims) DC seeds.jpg|Seeds

Sierra Madre Wistaria Festival 2016 01.jpg|The Sierra Madre Wistaria (the preferred spelling)

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sinensis

Category:Flora of China

Category:Vines

Category:Garden plants of Asia

Category:Plants used in bonsai

Category:Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle