Wisteria japonica Sieb. & Zucc.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Wisteria japonica' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/wisteria/wisteria-japonica/). Accessed 2024-03-28.

Synonyms

  • Milletia japonica (Sieb. & Zucc.) A. Gr.

Glossary

calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
axillary
Situated in an axil.
ciliate
Fringed with long hairs.
entire
With an unbroken margin.
glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.

References

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Wisteria japonica' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/wisteria/wisteria-japonica/). Accessed 2024-03-28.

A deciduous climber with slender twining stems. In the wild it climbs up bushes and small trees, which eventually become almost entirely enveloped by it. Leaves 6 to 9 in. long, composed of nine to thirteen leaflets, which are ovate, rounded, or slightly heart-shaped at the base, 112 to 212 in. long, 12 to 34 in. wide, bright glossy green and glabrous below. Racemes axillary, often branched, very slender, many-flowered, 6 to 12 in. long. Flowers white or pale yellow, 12 in. or so long (the smallest of wisterias), each produced on a stalk e in. long. Calyx bell-shaped, 316 in. long, glabrous except for the ciliate margins, five-toothed. Pods 3 to 4 in. long, 13 in. wide, quite glabrous, six- to seven-seeded.

Native of Japan; introduced for Messrs Veitch by Maries, in 1878. It first flowered in August 1884 at the Coombe Wood nursery. One of the most distinct of wisterias, belonging, perhaps, to another genus, this species never appears to have had full justice done to it in this country. It is worth growing if only for the lateness of its flowers (July and August). The often branching racemes, small flowers, and almost entire absence of down, distinguish it clearly. According to Siebold, a tree enveloped by this wisteria in full flower forms a ‘magnificent coup d’oeil, giving to vegetation an aspect of wild beauty.’

The taxonomic status of this species is controversial. In some respects it approaches Milletia, a genus of mainly tropical climbers.