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Species
Wisteria sinensis (Sims) Sweet var. alba Lindl. 1849
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
- Plant: deciduous, woody twining vine that climbs up tree trunks in a clockwise direction; stems are stout, smooth gray-brown and covered with fine white hairs. Older plants can grow to 15 in. or more in diameter.
- Leaves: alternate, compound, 6-10 in. long with 9-11 (7-13) leaflets; leaflets egg-shaped with wavy-margins and strongly tapering tips.
- Flowers, fruits and seeds: flowering occurs in April before leaf expansion; flowers are lavender to purple, occur in pendulous racemes or clusters 6-8 (up to 12) in. long, and open mostly all at once; individual flowers are 0.8-0.9 in. long on 0.6-0.8 in. long stalks (pedicels); fruits are green to brown velvety seedpods 4-6 in. long, narrowed toward the base with constrictions between the 1-3 flat, round seeds; fruits begin to appear midsummer and persist for a long time on the vine.
- Spreads: by seed which, in riparian areas, can be transported by water; vegetatively by producing stolons (above-ground stems) that produce shoots and roots at short intervals.
- Look-alikes: Japanese wisteria; American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens), with leaves 7-12 in. long, 9-15 leaflets of uniform size, margins plane, tips acute to slightly tapering, smooth bright green above, undersides slightly milky, flowers in May after leaf expansion, flower clusters 4-6 in. long and not especially pendulous, individual flowers about ¾ in. long, pale lilac-purple with a yellow spot, fruit green and glabrous (not hairy); seeds swollen, bean to kidney-shaped; and trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) with opposite, compound leaves, leaflet margins toothed, flowers red-orange, tubular and bloom late spring through summer.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | U.S. National Park Service |
Source | http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/wisi.htm |
One review describes uses for lectins and resins derived from Chinese wisteria [3].
Chinese wisteria was brought to the U.S. from China in 1816 as an ornamental. It has been grown extensively in the southern U.S. as a decorative addition to porches, gazebos, walls, and gardens. Most infestations in natural areas are a result of escapes from landscape plantings.
Woody climber, deciduous. Leaf imparipinnate, c. 30 cm long; leaflets 7-11, c. 6-7.5 cm long, c. 2-3 cm broad, elliptic-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, densely pubescent when young; petiolule, c. 2.5 mm long; stipels c. 5 mm long. Inflorescence a pendulous raceme c. 20-30 cm long, pedicel c. 1.8-2.0 cm long. Calyx c. 5 mm long, densely pubescent, teeth unequal, the lowest the longest. Vexillum c. 2.5 cm long, with 2 appendages at the top of the claw. Fruit 10.0-12.5 cm long, oblanceolate, flattened, velvety.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200012368 |
No information is available on this topic.
The hard woody vines of Chinese wisteria twine tightly around host tree trunks and branches and cut through the host tree bark, eventually girdling and killing it. On the ground, new vines germinating from seed or sprouting from rootstocks form dense thickets that smother and shade out native vegetation and impede natural plant community development. As girdled trees die, canopy gaps are created which increase the amount of sunlight reaching the forest floor. While this may temporarily favor some native species, it also stimulates vigorous growth and spread of wisteria.
Chinese wisteria was introduced in 1916 as an ornamental plant. It has been widely planted and cultivated and is still very popular in the nursery trade despite its weedy and destructive habits.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | U.S. National Park Service |
Source | http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/wisi.htm |
Perennial, Trees, Vines, twining, climbing, Woody throughout, Plants with rhizomes or suckers, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems greater than 2 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs glabrous or sparsely glabrate, Stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy, Leaves absent at flowering time, Leaves alternate, Leaves clustered on spurs or fasicles, Leaves petiolate, Stipules inconspicuous, absent, or caducous, Stipules setiform, subulate or acicular, Stipules dec iduous, Stipules free, Leaves compound, Leaves odd pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Stipels present at base of leaflets, Leaflets 5-9, Leaflets 10-many, Leaves glabrous or nearly so, Leaves hairy on one or both surfaces, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence axillary, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence or flowers lax, declined or pendulous, Bracts conspicuously present, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Bracts hairy, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 2-lipped or 2-lobed, Calyx hairy, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals pinkish to rose, Petals blue, lavander to purple, or violet, Banner petal suborbicular, broadly rounded, Banner petal auriculate, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing petals auriculate, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Keel petals fused on sides or at tip, Stamens 9-10, Stamens diadelphous, 9 united, 1 free, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Style sharply bent, Fruit a leg ume, Fruit unilocular, Fruit tardily or weakly dehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit coriaceous or becoming woody, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit compressed between seeds, Fruit hairy, Fruit 2-seeded, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Seeds ovoid to rounded in outline, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Compiled from several sources by Dr. David Bogler, Missouri Botanical Garden in collaboration with the USDA NRCS NPDC |
Source | http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=WISI |
No information is available on this topic.