全 文 ：Cultural Connotation of Wisteria sinensis Sweet． and Its
Application in Landscape Architecture
LI Sheng-ke，DING Shao-gang* ，ZHANG Chang-le
Landscape Department，Nanjing Agricultural University，Nanjing，Jiangsu 210095，China
Abstract This paper had illustrated correlation properties of Wisteria sinensis Sweet． and analyzed its cultural connotation，and then made a con-
clusion of its cultivation and application in landscape architecture． Meanwhile，it summarized the disposition and landscaping forms of W． sinensis
Sweet． in landscape architecture，finally discussed its promoting application and proposed some suggestions on its application trend．
Key words Wisteria sinensis Sweet．，Cultural connotation，Landscape architecture，Application
Received:December 3，2010 Accepted:January 10，2011
* Corresponding author． E-mail:la． cn@live． com
1 Overview
1． 1 Morphological characteristics Wisteria sinensis Sweet．
was Chinese wisteria． It was vine of Wisteria of Leguminosae，
also deciduous woody liana． Its bark was light grey，and had
shallow longitudinal flaw． Its stem was solid and robust，and
could wind around other things tightly．
1． 2 Distribution of species W． sinensis Sweet． was widely
cultivated and China was one of its main source areas． It was
pervasively cultivated in North China，and also planted in East
China，Central China，South China，Northwest China and
Southwest China． In Japan，South Korea and North Korea，it
also cultivated［1］．
1． 3 Growth habit W． sinensis Sweet． belonged to warm
temperature vines，loved sunshine but could tolerate shade a
little． It had strong adaptability to external environment (climate
and soil) ，and strong vitality． It could endure coldness，drought
and wetness． It was of certain pollution resistance and could
adapt to climate change and soil difference．
1． 4 Ornamental value W． Sweet． was a vine plant that was
largely applied in landscape architecture of our country． Its
flowers，leaves and fruits were of ornamental value． It could be
planted on land or in pot，with strong adaptability，long life span
and wide functions，easy to be managed．
As traditional ornamental vine flower of China and world fa-
mous shady flower，W． sinensis Sweet． had long flowering
phase，beautiful flower shape，and fruits in shape of bean pod．
Its dense leaves could form a large area of shady place． It had
been rare vine plant for canopy in landscape architecture［2］．
2 Cultural connotation
2．1 Continuation of ancient and modern context From time
immemorial，W． sinensis Sweet． was the important material of
Chinese flower-and-bird painting． Man of letters through dynas-
ties had written poems singing the praises of W． sinensis
Sweet． ． In Scripture of Flowers， it had recorded that
W． sinensis Sweet． climbed the trees and interlocked with
them，winding and meandering，just like a flood dragon haunt-
ing about pine forest． It flowered in the middle of spring．
As the most well-known flower-observing vine plant for
shady canopy in courtyard，it had a long cultivation history in
our country． In some ancient books like Brush Talks from
Dream Brook and Textual Research on Reality and Titles of
Plants，it had been involved． A lot of cultures had derived from
W． sinensis Sweet． which had been vital carrier for continua-
tion of ancient and modern context，such as food culture．
2． 1． 1 W． sinensis Sweet． in Beijing food． The famous local
specialties Chinese wisteria bread and Chinese wisteria
cake were closely related with leaves of W． sinensis Sweet． ．
Memory in Beijing of the end of Qing Dynasty had recorded that
in March， flowers of Ulmus pumila would be picked and
braised，and then mixed with sugar and flour． That was
U． pumila cake． If they were replaced by flowers of W． sinen-
sis Sweet．，it was Chinese wisteria cake． They were seasona-
ble foods．
2． 1． 2 W． sinensis Sweet． in tea house of Taibei City． Tea
house with heavy traditional cultural atmosphere in Taiwan was
tea house in Taibei City － Wisteria Tea House． It was named
for there were three plants of old W． sinensis Sweet． in front of
the house． And as W． sinensis Sweet． had sheltered and
formed good shade for Japanese old architectures (a history of
more than 80 years)with two stories，tourists couldnt identify
specific location of the tea house even if they had come to the
main door． So Wisteria Tea House in the city hadnt been dis-
turbed by bustling of the city and guests could leisurely walk on
stone path and into shady and tranquil courtyard［3］．
2． 2 Carrier of landscape connotation
2． 2． 1 W． sinensis Sweet． of WEN Family． W． sinensis
Sweet． at the entrance of Humble Administrators Garden in
Suzhou City was said to be planted by WEN Zheng-ming per-
sonally who did well in poems，paintings and calligraphy． On
the wall beside shelf for W． sinensis Sweet．，seven Chinese
characters were craved which were Meng Rong Yi Jia Zi
Cheng Lin (a shelf of fluffy wisteria forming a forest)． And on
Journal of Landscape Research 2011，3(1):67 －69 Editor:Chan Zhenzhen Proofreader:Wu Xiaoyan
the stone tablet beside it， Planted by WEN Heng-shan was
craved． WEN Heng-shan was WEN Zheng-ming of Ming Dy-
nasty，which showed that these W． sinensis Sweet． had a his-
tory of almost 500 years，fully manifesting the cultural and his-
torical connotation．
2． 2． 2 W． sinensis Sweet． of Yuan． From eighth to tenth year
of Qianlong Emperor of Qing Dynasty (1743 － 1745) ，YUAN
Mei had cultivated a plant of W． sinensis Sweet． in county offi-
cial courtyard when he was appointed as the magistrate of
Shuyang County of Jiangsu Province． Through 250 years，
W． sinensis Sweet． of Yuan had experienced many vicissi-
tudes，but still had luxurious leaves，winding like flood dragon，
making tourists enjoy themselves so much as to forget to
leave．
2． 2． 3 W． sinensis Sweet． of Hongluo． Huairou Hongluo
Temple was one of tourist scenic spots in Beijing． W． sinensis
Sweet． behind it had a long history and it was said that it was
inherited from Song Dynasty． There were altogether two plants
of it which had covered half of the temple courtyard under the
support of ancient pines． It covered an area of more than 80
m2． In summer，it was shady and cool． Light and dark flower
groups hung on branches，and the sweet smells of them stroke
the nose，skimming over the surface． It had responded to the
famous sentences written by LI Bai， W． sinensis Sweet．
hanged on trees and flowered in middle spring;birds sang
among its dense leaves and its fragrance gladdened the heart
and refreshed the mind．
2． 2． 4 W． sinensis Sweet． of ancient rooms． To plant
W． sinensis Sweet． in old quadrangle courtyard of Beijing was
favored by many men of literature and writing． Some of them
even named their rooms with wisteria，and it had carried the
thoughts of them． Haibo Lane outside of Xuanwu Gate of Qing
Dynasty in which ZHU Yi-zun had lived got its name for
W． sinensis Sweet． had been cultivated in the courtyard．
2． 2． 5 W． sinensis Sweet． of Nanyang Model High School． In
former campus of Nanyang Model High School of Shanghai City
(No． 200 of Tianping Road) ，there were two plants of
W． sinensis Sweet． which had experienced more than one
hundred of years． When flowering，light purple butterfly flowers
decorated trees，just like many butterflies dancing around oc-
tagonal pavilion．
The two plants of W． sinensis Sweet． just seemed to be
old men seeing the history，illustrated 108 years of school his-
tory and deposited campus cultural connotation．
2． 2． 6 W． sinensis Sweet． of Yingke． There was a plant of
W． sinensis Sweet． hundreds of years old in Xindu County of
Sichuan Province，which was called as Yingke wisteria ． East
Lake in Xinfan Town of Xindu County was the only garden of
Tang Dynasty in Sichuan Province． It mainly had towering ar-
bors assisted with bamboo forest［4 －5］．
3 Application of W． sinensis Sweet． in land-
scape architecture
3． 1 Cultivation form of W． sinensis Sweet． W． sinensis
Sweet． had extensive connotation space in landscape architec-
ture． In terms of its application form，there were primarily fol-
lowing forms．
3． 1． 1 Canopy form． After W． sinensis Sweet． had grown up，
its branches and tendrils were entangled with each other． It
needed stones，bricks or concrete columns to support them．
And then green shady corridor or canopy could form． It should
not use wood or bamboo to support，for they were easy to cor-
rode and even collapsed．
3． 1． 2 Isolate form． Though W． sinensis Sweet． was vine
plant，it could be as upright as arbors when it grew thick
enough． Hence，it should pay attention to prune branches con-
stantly so that the trunk could be robust．
3． 1． 3 Stump form． Potted wisteria was generally stump land-
scape． Thick stem was commonly inserted in the pot and wild
old root also could be used to cultivate (it could transplant spe-
cies people liked on wild stump)．
3． 1． 4 Landscaping form． This form was usually applied be-
side artificial rockery，lakes or pavilions． W． sinensis Sweet．
would be cultivated in isolated planting or wind around other
plants． As its branches had strong vitality，it would form green
screen with dense flowers and leaves in one year［6］．
3． 2 Application of W． sinensis Sweet． in landscape
architecture W． sinensis Sweet． was good flower-observing
vine plant，suitable to be planted at wall or stone，also be ap-
plied on dead trees，balcony and so on． Generally speaking，
W． sinensis Sweet． had a wide application in modern land-
scape architecture，which primarily manifested in following
aspects．
3． 2． 1 Planted in courtyard for placing emotion． As traditional
vine plant with profound connotation，it had a long history plan-
ted in courtyard． Generally，it winded around canopy to form
flower corridor，or on other withered branches to embody that
they revitalized． In addition，it could be made into hanging pot-
ted landscape and placed on bookshelf，which was refreshing．
3． 2． 2 Planted in scenic area for landscaping． It could find
W． sinensis Sweet． everywhere in scenic area and its landsca-
ping effect was evident． For example，there were two plants of
it in backyard garden of Tai Mountain Scenic Area in Taian City
of Shandong Province． Their shapes were natural and smooth，
winding and meandering，with large flowers and fresh fra-
grance． Whenever they flowered，it looked attractive．
3． 2． 3 Planted in factories and mines for beautification of roof．
W． sinensis Sweet． could resist and absorb HF，SO2 and Cr，
so it was widely applied in factories and mines． Meanwhile，as
it had obvious vertical greening effect and was easy to be plan-
ted，it was one of frequently used vine plants for landscaping of
roof garden．
3． 2． 4 Planted in parks for urban greening． W． sinensis
Sweet． had high ornamental value and was often planted be-
side flower frames，or pool，lake，stones and rockeries． It had
been applied in Nanjing Xuanwu Lake Park，Beijing Zhongshan
Park，Beijing Grand Garden of World Flowers，and so on．
3． 2． 5 Natural planting embodying characteristics． W． sinen-
sis Sweet． had long life span and was easy to be managed．
Based on climate change，it could prune branches appropriately
86 Journal of Landscape Research 2011
at its rest period． At ordinary times，with adequate sunshine
and proper water and fertilization ensured，it could keep dense
flowers and leaves every year． For instance，ancient wisteria in
Jinlang County of Tongling City in Anhui Province and wisteria
forest in Shuangjianxiang Mountainous Area of Anji in Zhejiang
Province were significant manifestations of native feature［7 －8］．
4 Conclusions
Vine plants had wide application in landscape architecture．
As vine plant，W． sinensis Sweet． had evident advantages． It
had strong adaptability to urban environment，covered a small
area，had good winding and clinging ability，was easy to ex-
pand to the air，grew fast and showed greening effect instantly．
With long vines and dense leaves，it could shelter and reduce
temperature in partial space． It could also be used for ground
coverage and to protect slope．
Its own characteristic and cultural connotation had decided
that W． sinensis Sweet． was a very good species for garden
greening which deserved to be promoted with effort． Population
in city was increasingly concentrated，and the density of build-
ings constantly increased． It failed to satisfy the requirement for
function and form of urban greening simply by relying on flat
greening． It should make use of vertical space as far as possi-
ble and enhance disposition of vertical greening． And then the
special function of vine plants could be brought into full play．
Therefore，W． sinensis Sweet．，as good environment-protec-
tion tree species，was undoubtedly one of the most ideal
selections．
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李升科，丁绍刚* ，张常乐 (南京农业大学园林系，江苏南京 210095)
作者简介 李升科(1985 －) ，男，湖北黄冈人，硕士研究生，研究方向:风景园林规划与设计，E-mail:la． cn@ live． com。* 通讯作者，副教授，硕士，硕
士生导师，从事园林设计研究，E-mail:dsg2009@ njau． edu． cn。
收稿日期 2010-12-03 修回日期
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2011-01-10
(Continued from P63)
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广州市农业生态旅游发展中的环境保护问题探析
———以完善旅游公司环境责任制度为视角
周帮扬，梅章慧，李健全 (华中农业大学文法学院，湖北武汉 430070)
基金项目 2009 年华中农业大学创新基金(52204-10027)。
作者简介 周帮扬(1973 －) ，男，重庆人，副教授，硕士，硕士生导师，从事经济法、资源环境法研究，E-mail:xmm1108@ 126． com。
收稿日期 2010-12-02 修回日期 2011-01-09
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96LI Sheng-ke et al． Cultural Connotation of Wisteria sinensis Sweet． and Its Application in Landscape Architecture