''Wisteria floribunda'',

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to Japan. ('' Wisteriopsis japonica'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Wisteria japonica'', is a different species.) Growing to , ''Wisteria floribunda'' is a woody,

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

twining climber. It was first brought from Japan to the United States in the 1830s. It is a common subject for

bonsai Bonsai (; , ) is the Japanese art of Horticulture, growing and shaping miniature trees in containers, with a long documented history of influences and native Japanese development over a thousand years, and with unique aesthetics, cultural hist ...

, along with ''

Wisteria sinensis ''Wisteria sinensis'', commonly known as the Chinese wisteria, is a species of flowering plant in the pea family (botany), family, native species, native to China, in the provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, and Yunnan. Gr ...

'' (Chinese wisteria). Japanese wisteria sports the longest flower

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s of any wisteria; Some of those cultivars can reach in length. These racemes burst into clustered white, pink, violet, or blue flowers in early- to mid-

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

. The flowers carry a fragrance similar to that of

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

s. The early flowering time of Japanese wisteria can cause problems in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

climates, where early

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

s can destroy the coming years' flowers. It will also flower only after passing from juvenile to

adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

stage, a transition that may take many years just like its cousin Chinese wisteria. Japanese wisteria can grow over long over many supports via powerful

clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...

-twining stems. The foliage consists of shiny, dark-green,

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...

ly compound leaves in length. The leaves bear about 15-19 oblong leaflets that are each long. It also bears

poisonous A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

, brown, velvety, bean-like seed pods long that mature in summer and persist until winter. Japanese wisteria prefers moist soils and full sun in

USDA plant hardiness zones A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

5–9.Purple Patches Japanese Wisteria (includes some growth conditions and US region map)
''www.monrovia.com'', accessed 13 May 2020 The plant often lives over 50 years.

Cultivars

Those marked have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

. * 'Burford' – pale violet with purple keel * 'Domino' – pale lilac * or 'Rosea' – pale rose flowers tipped purple, long * ' Perfect' – light lavender flowers * or 'Royal Purple' – dark blue or violet flowers, lightly scented, long clustered bunches, long * 'Jako' or 'Ivory Tower' * 'Kimono' * – violet, scented * or 'Carnea' – pink flower * 'Lawrence' – pale violet flowers, deeper violet keel and wings * 'Longissima – mauve-purple flowers on a raceme up to or even in length. means '9 ', referring to an archaic Japanese unit of measurement; in the

International System of Units The International System of Units, internationally known by the abbreviation SI (from French ), is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. It is the only system of measurement with official s ...

, 9 translates to a length of . The origin of this cultivar is a 1200 year-old wisteria tree in Ushijima, Kasukabe City, which had racemes about long in the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

. Also known as or . * 'Macrobotrys' or 'Longissima' – reddish-violet flower clusters or longer * 'Macrobotrys Cascade' – white and pinkish-purple flowers, vigorous grower * 'Nana Richins Purple' – purple flowers * – variegated foliage * 'Plena' or 'Violaceae Plena' – double blue flowers in dense clusters * 'Praecox' or 'Domino' – purple flowers * 'Purpurea' – unknown; may be ''Wisteria sinensis'' 'Consequa', sometimes labeled purpurea * 'Rubra' – unknown; may be 'Honbeni' – sometimes labeled as Rubrum – deep pink to red flowers * (''W. floribunda'' f' ''alba'') – long white flower clusters * 'Texas Purple' – may be a ''sinensis'' or a hybrid, short racemes, purple flowers, produced while the plant is still young * 'Violacea Plena' – double violet flowers,

rosette Rosette is the French diminutive of ''rose''. It may refer to: Flower shaped designs * Rosette (award), a mark awarded by an organisation * Rosette (design), a small flower design *hence, various flower-shaped or rotational symmetric forms: ** R ...

-shaped * 'White with Blue Eye' – also known as 'Sekines Blue' – very fragrant *

Gallery

Wisteria floribunda2.jpg, Racemes with flower buds Wisteria_floribunda8.jpg, Flowers Wisteria floribunda MHNT.BOT.2008.1.38.jpg, Seeds 足利の藤 (Wisteria trellises in Ashikaga) 29 Apr, 2009 - panoramio.jpg, A great blossoms at in

Ashikaga, Tochigi is a Cities of Japan, city located in Tochigi Prefecture of Honshu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 140,036, in 62,123 households and a population density of 788 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Ashika ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The largest wisteria in Japan, it is dated to 1870 and covered approximately . 牛島の藤, 1200-year-old Wisteria floribunda tree at Tokaen in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture.jpg, , a 1,200-year-old tree designated as a by the Japanese government. The original tree of the

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

'Longissima Kyushaku'.

Kasukabe, Saitama is a special city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 233,278 in 108,328 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Kasukabe is famous for the production of , tradition ...

, Japan. 骨波田の藤, 650-year-old Wisteria floribunda tree at Chosenji Temple in Honjo, Saitama Prefecture.jpg, , a 650-year-old tree designated as a natural monument by

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

Honjō, Saitama file:Floats lined up at the Honjo Festival,Honjo city,Japan.jpg, 260px, Honjō Matsuri is a List of cities in Japan, city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 77,900 in 35,026 households and a population ...

, Japan. Japanese wisteria, Ashikaga Flower Park 4.jpg, Purple wisteria at Ashikaga Flower Park Japanese wisteria, Ashikaga Flower Park 3.jpg, Purple wisteria at Ashikaga Flower Park Japanese wisteria, Ashikaga Flower Park 7.jpg, White wisteria at Ashikaga Flower Park Japanese wisteria, Ashikaga Flower Park 8.jpg, White wisteria at Ashikaga Flower Park Japanese wisteria, Ashikaga Flower Park 9.jpg, Bridge of light pink wisteria at Ashikaga Flower Park Japanese wisteria, Ashikaga Flower Park 10.jpg, Light pink wisteria at Ashikaga Flower Park Japanese wisteria, Ashikaga Flower Park 11.jpg, Double flowered wisteria at Ashikaga Flower Park

References

External links

Japanese Wisteria at MSU

Japanese Wisteria as a pest

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1329209 floribunda Flora of Japan Garden plants of Asia Plants used in bonsai Vines