Leaf
Baummapper, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Chinese wisteria
Wisteria sinensis (Sims) Sweet
Family: Fabaceae
Climbing liana that can reach 15 to 20 m
Planted on a pergola, trellis or trained against a wall
Flowering: April – May, before the leaves
Full sun
Part shade
Very hardy, to about -20°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Chinese wisteria always twines anticlockwise around its support, unlike Japanese wisteria, which twines in the opposite direction — one of the few reliable ways to tell the two species apart without flowers.
🍃 Leaves
Deciduous, compound, pinnate, with oval leaflets
🌸 Flowers
Bluish-mauve, highly scented, held in long pendent racemes appearing before the foliage
🍎 Fruits
Long velvety pod, containing several toxic seeds
🪵 Bark
Woody twining climber, winding anticlockwise around its support
🗺️ Distribution
Native to China; very widely planted in France as an ornamental
🐝 Value for pollinators
Long, very nectar-rich racemes, among the most attractive spring blooms for bees and bumblebees
✂️ Horticultural uses
Major ornamental climber for pergolas and house fronts, valued for its spectacular, scented spring flowering
⚠️ Possible toxicity
All parts, notably the seeds and pods, are toxic if eaten
🌿 Other Fabaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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