Japanese wisteria

Japanese wisteria
	forming a long pergola , in full bloom
Systematics
Order :	Fabales (Fabales)
Family :	Legumes (Fabaceae)
Subfamily :	Butterflies (Faboideae)
Tribe :	Millettieae
Genre :	Wisteria ( Wisteria )
Type :	Japanese wisteria
Scientific name
	Wisteria floribunda
	( Willd. ) DC.

The Japanese Wisteria ( Wisteria floribunda ), mostly Japanese wisteria called, is a plant of the genus Wisteria . It was brought from Japan to the United States by George Rogers Hall in 1860 . Since then, it has become a popular ornamental plant for parks and gardens. The Japanese wisteria prefers moist soils and direct sun.

description

Inflorescences with typical zygomorphic flowers

Open legume and seeds

The Japanese wisteria is a deciduous, woody climbing plant ( liana ). The many strong, right-winding trunks can be over 30 meters long. The plant often reaches an age of over 50 years. The alternately arranged, glossy dark green, unpaired pinnate leaves are 10 to 30 centimeters long and consist of nine to 13 leaflets. The elongated, entire leaflets are 2 to 6 centimeters long.

The flowering behavior of the Japanese Wisteria is probably the most spectacular of all species of the genus Wisteria : At 0.3 to 0.9 meters, it has the longest racemose inflorescences of all Wisteria species with many flowers. The flowering period is mainly between early and mid-spring. The early flowering period of the Japanese wisteria can be problematic in temperate climates, as late frost can destroy the budding inflorescences. In addition, this wisteria only blooms after it has passed through the youth stage, which, like the Chinese wisteria from the same genus, can take many years.

Depending on the variety, the white, purple or blue flowers give off a distinctive scent similar to grapes . The fragrant and decorative, hermaphrodite, five-fold flower is zygomorphic and 1.5 to 2.0 centimeters long. The five tips of the overgrown-leaved calyx are unequal. The five petals are purple to blue or white, depending on the variety. The flag is large and vertical. The wings are sickle-shaped. The wings are not fused with the shuttle.

Numerous gray-velvet, bean-like, poisonous legumes are formed, which ripen in summer and remain hanging until spring; they are 10 to 15 cm long. When exposed to strong sunlight, they open with a bang and throw the wrinkled, flat seeds into a greater distance.

Varieties of Wisteria floribunda (selection)

Double-flowered variety: 'Violacea Plena'.

Alba - white flowers
Carnea - flesh-colored pink flowers
Issai Perfect - white flowers when the plant is still young
Ivory Tower - numerous, fragrant, white flowers
Lawrence - blue flowers, hardy variety
Longissima - slightly purple flowers, very long clusters
Longissima Alba - white flowers in clusters up to half a meter long
Macrobotrys - reddish-purple flower clusters, a meter or more long
Macrobotrys Cascade - white and pink-purple flowers, vigorous growth

Plena - double, blue flowers in dense clusters

Praecox - blue-violet flowers, dwarf variant

Purpurea - purple flowers

Rosea - pale pink flowers with purple tips, 45 cm long

Royal Purple - purple flowers

Rubra - intense pink to red flowers

Snow Showers - white flowers with a lilac tint

Texas Purple - purple flowers while the plant is young

Violacea Plena - double, purple, rosette-shaped flowers

use

Kazura Bridge in the Iya Valley made from spiral shoots

Wisteria is used almost exclusively as an ornamental plant in Europe . The poison in the seeds is not thermally stable; cooking or roasting makes them edible. The taste of roasted seeds is reminiscent of chestnuts. Young shoots and flowers are also used cooked, sometimes as a tea substitute. Ropes and sandals are made from the bark, and the wood is also processed. In the Japanese Iya Valley ( Tokushima Prefecture ), bridges were built from the plant's spiral shoots to cross rivers . For this purpose, the lianas were braided together after they had reached a sufficient length and wooden planks were added.