Wisteria sinensis
Common name:
Chinese Wisteria
Pronunciation:
wis-TE-ri-a si-NEN-sis
Family:
Fabaceae
Genus:
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Deciduous vine, 30-40(100) ft [9-12(30) m], twines counter-clockwise. Leaves pinnately compound, 25-30 cm long, 7-13 leaflets (usually 11), each about 5-10 cm long, abruptly acuminate, deep green above, somewhat hairy beneath, especially on the midrib. Bloom occurs before leaves expand, April-May. Flowers usually blue-violet (var. alba has white flowers), about 2.5 cm long, in 15-30 cm clusters (racemes), all flowers in a cluster tend to open at about the same time (flowers larger than those of W. floribunda). Fruit is a pod 10-15 cm long.
- Sun to part shade
- Hardy to USDA Zone 5 Native to China Several cultivars, including double and dark purple
- Caution: both Japanese and Chinese Wisteria (W. floribunda and W. sinensis) and their hybrids are reported to have invaded natural habitats throughout many eastern and southern States.
- Corvallis: front of 120 12th St. This house, known as the Solberg House, was built in 1915, and the Chinese Wisteria on the front was reportedly planted about the same time.