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.
Click image to enlarge
  • plant habit, flowering

    plant habit, flowering

  • plant habit, flowering

    plant habit, flowering

  • plant habit, flowering

    plant habit, flowering

  • flower buds

    flower buds

  • flower clusters

    flower clusters

  • plant habit, after flowering

    plant habit, after flowering

  • leaves

    leaves

  • leaves

    leaves

  • leaflets, comparison

    leaflets, comparison

  • winter twigs and buds

    winter twigs and buds

  • buds

    buds