Wisteria sinensis

W. sinensis is a woody, deciduous vine that can climb to 20 m. The bark on older vines is dark grey with light colored dots (lenticels). Vines twine clockwise (left to right). Leaves are alternate and compound with 7-13 leaflets. Leaflets are attached opposite to each other along the leaf stalk. Leaflets have wavy edges and long, tapering tips. Young leaves are densely covered in silky hairs, but are almost hairless when mature. Grape-like clusters of fragrant lavender to purple flowers hang from the vines, usually flowering as the leaves emerge in spring. Flowers are attached to the cluster by a short stalk. Pubescence on the flower is conjoined to the upper third of inner face of the standard (or banner) petal. Flower clusters (racemes) are 12Ð35 cm long. Flattened pods 6-15 cm long and 2-3 cm wide are velvety. Pods contain 1 to 8 flat, round, brown seeds each 1.2-2.5 cm in diameter (Trusty et al., 2007a;Miller et al., 2010).