The genus includes four species of woody twining vines that are native to China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, southern Canada, the Eastern United States, and north of Iran.

[15][16] It has been suggested that the Portuguese botanist and geologist José Francisco Corrêa da Serra, who lived in Philadelphia beginning in 1812, four years before his appointment as ambassador of Portugal to the United States, and a friend of Wistar, proposed the name "Wistaria" in his obituary of Wistar.

[17] As the spelling is apparently deliberate, there is no justification for changing the genus name under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants.

Molecular phylogenetic studies from 2000 onwards showed that Wisteria, along with other genera such as Callerya and Afgekia, were related and quite distinct from other members of the Millettieae.

All parts of the plant contain a saponin called wisterin, which is toxic if ingested, and may cause dizziness, confusion, speech problems, nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, diarrhea and collapse.

Wisteria seeds have caused poisoning in children and pets of many countries, producing mild to severe gastroenteritis and other effects.

However, specimens grown from seed can take decades to bloom; for this reason, gardeners usually grow plants that have been started from rooted cuttings or grafted cultivars known to flower well.

Wisteria can grow into a mound when unsupported, but is at its best when allowed to clamber up a tree, pergola, wall, or other supporting structure.

[7] Whatever the case, the support must be very sturdy, because mature wisteria can become immensely strong with heavy wrist-thick trunks and stems.

If it is desired to control the size of the plant, the side shoots can be shortened to between 20 and 40 cm long in midsummer, and back to 10 to 20 centimetres (3.9 to 7.9 in) in the fall.

Once the plant is a few years old, a relatively compact, free-flowering form can be achieved by pruning off the new tendrils three times during the growing season in the summer months.

In the United Kingdom, the national collection of wisteria is held by Chris Lane at the Witch Hazel Nursery in Newington, near Sittingbourne in Kent.

[30] Wisteria and their racemes have been widely used in Japan throughout the centuries and were a popular symbol in mon (family crests) and heraldry.

In the West, both in building materials such as tile, as well as stained glass, wisterias have been used both in realism and stylistically in artistic works and industrial design.