The New Student's Reference Work/Wistaria

Wista′ria, a class of climbing plants named after Professor Wistar of Philadelphia. The leaf is formed of from nine to 15 oval leaflets, and the flowers, usually lilac in color, grow in thick, long clusters and resemble the flowers of the locust-tree or sweet peas or other plants of the Leguminosæ or bean family, to which it belongs. The seeds or beans are found in long pods. It grows rapidly, often 20 feet in a season. The Chinese wistaria, introduced from Japan, blooms earlier, with a looser cluster of flowers, of a paler lilac or white. There are several other varieties, including a double-flowered one.