American Wisteria
Wisteria frutescens
56
Strong
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 15–40 feet
- Spread
- 4–8 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 6 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 3 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- Spring
- Fruiting season
- Summer
Recorded in 27 Florida counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
18CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Wisteria
- Epargyreus clarusSilver-spotted Skipper
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Anticarsia gemmatalisVelvetbean Caterpillar Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Ecdytolopha insiticianaLocust Twig Borer Moth
- Euphydryas phaetonThe Baltimore, The Black Checker
- Gesta horatiusHorace's Duskywing, Brown Duskywing
- Gesta zaruccoZarucco Duskywing
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
Show all 18
- Oedemasia concinnaRed-Humped Caterpillar, Red-Humped Appleworm
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Paonias excaecataBlinded Sphinx, Blind Eyed Sphinx
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Synanthedon scitulaDogwood Borer, Pecan Borer
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
- Zale lunataLunate Zale
13BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Wisteria
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Blue, yellow, green, purple, red or white
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Several stems
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Summer
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Blue, yellow, green, purple, red or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “15–40 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “4–8 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Wisteria
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S3S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications