Chinese Wisteria is a really beautiful twining deciduous vine. In springtime
it leafs out and flowers with large, drooping, grapelike clusters of purple-blue,
fragrant flowers. This tough woody vine often climbs high into tree canopy
when grown in mild winter climates. It is stunning to see a wisteria draped
from the limbs of a tall pine when in full bloom, a scene made more memorable
by the blossoms' appealing fragrance. Leaves are compound and consist of 7 to
13 leaflets to about 3 in in length. The flowers are white, violet, or blue,
produced on 6-10 inches long racemes in spring, usually reaching their peak in
April-May. The flowers are followed by
attractive velvety pods 6 in in length. In winter, Chinese Wisteria is a
tangled mass of naked woody stems that may or may not be picturesque depending
on culture and circumstance. Chinese wisteria is usually very long lived and
trunks can become quite large and attractively gnarly with age. The genus was
named after Dr. Caspar Wistar (1761-1818), a professor of anatomy at the
University of Pennsylvania. Chinese or sweet wisteria is native to China.
Flowering: April-May.
Identification credit: Tabish
Photographed in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand.
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The flower labeled Chinese Wisteria is ...
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