Wisteria (Exotic)

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-030514",
  "term": "Wisteria (Exotic)",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "Chinese and Japanese wisteria are exotic, showy, woody ornamental vines. These vigorous vines can climb trees, apparently limited only by the height of the tree, and have been observed to reach 65 feet. Unlike American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens), native to the southeastern U.S., which flowers June through August, and produces a non-hairy seed pod 2-4 inches long, both exotic wisterias flower in the springtime (April-May) and produce a velvety seed pod. The fuzzy brown seed pods are 4-6 inches long, narrowed toward the base, with constrictions between the seeds. Stems of the exotic wisterias can grow to 15 inches in diameter in older plants. White-barked Japanese wisteria vines twine clockwise around the host plant and Chinese wisteria twines counter-clockwise. The compound leaves, consisting of 7-13 (Chinese) or 13-19 (Japanese) smaller leaf units, called leaflets, are about 1 foot long and alternate along the stem. Fragrant, violet to blue-violet flowers, ½ to 1 inch long, occur in showy, pendulous clusters that hang gracefully from the twining stems.",
  "references": [
    "National Park Service Plant Conservation Alliance at http://www.invasive.org/weedcd/pdfs/wgw/exoticwisterias.pdf"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/wisteria-exotic/"
}