Eastern Forest Threat Center - Japanese Wisteria

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Japanese wisteria

Japanese wisteria

J. Scott Peterson, USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, Bugwood.org

Japanese Wisteria
Wisteria floribunda

Japanese wisteria was introduced into the U.S. from Asia in the early 1800s. It has been used as a traditional porch vine in the southern U.S.

Keywords: Fabaceae, deciduous, vine, white bark, woody stems, wavy leaf margins, fragrant pealike flowers, legume seed pods, water dispersal, root runners

Distribution Map Distribution Source Image

Threat Description

Japanese wisteria is a deciduous vine that grows to 70 ft. in length. It has white bark, and its woody stems, up to 10 in. in diameter, have infrequent alternate branching. Twigs have dense, short hairs. Leaves are alternate, odd pinnately compound, and 4 to 16 in. long, with entire, wavy margins and 13 to 19 leaflets. Leaflets are oval to elliptic with tapering pointed tips and have dense silky hairs when young. At maturity, leaflets either have short hairs or are hairless. Fragrant, pealike flowers that are lavender to violet occur from March to May in dangling, showy, stalked clusters that are 4 to 20 in. long and 3 to 3.5 in. wide. Fruits occur from July to November as flattened legume pods. Pods, which are velvety hairy, greenish brown to golden, and up to 6 in. long, split open on two sides to release 1 to 8 large, flat, round brown seeds. The large seed size is a deterrent to animal dispersal, but seeds are water dispersed along riparian areas. Japanese wisteria colonizes by twisting and covering shrubs and trees and by runners that root at nodes when vines are covered by leaf litter. It occurs on wet to dry sites, and forms dense infestations where previously planted.