The arching racemes of this climber can be seen dripping from the walls of Brookside.
This familiar hardy shrub is vigorous in habit, reaching in excess of 10m if given good, strong supports. In it’s native homeland of China, it will scramble vertically through host trees to great effect. Although rampant, it can be pruned to form small, free-standing shrubs. A member of the pea family, Fabaceae, it has alternate, pinnate foliage of eleven leaflets, and pendent racemes of mauve or lilac, lightly scented, pea-shaped flowers. The genus Wisteria was named after Caspar Wistar, an American professor of anatomy in the early 1900’s.