page_title: Wisteria frutescens
section_title: Toxicity
hierarchical_section_title: Wisteria frutescens / Toxicity
caption_attribution_description: English: American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens) large seeds (about 2cm or 3/4 inch across), attached inside the halves of their fuzzy seedpod, curled after opening and partial drying. Duke Forest Korstian Division, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
context_page_description: Wisteria frutescens, commonly known as American wisteria, is a woody, deciduous, perennial climbing vine, one of various wisterias of the family Fabaceae. It is native to the wet forests and stream banks of the southeastern United States, with a range stretching from the states of Virginia to Texas and extending southeast through Florida, also north to Iowa, Michigan, and New York.
context_section_description: All species of Wisteria contain a saponin known as Wisterin, sometimes called Wistarin, in the bark, branches, pods, roots, and seeds. There is debate over whether the flowers are toxic. An unknown and toxic resin is present as well.  Poisoning from the plant can occur from ingestion of 1 to 2 seed pods and results in mild to severe gastroenteritis, nausea, frequent vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. This can result in dehydration and collapse in serious cases; recovery generally occurs within 24 hours. The concentration of toxins varies in all segments of the plant and varies during different seasons. Wisterin's structure has been shown to be similar in structure and in effects to the alkaloid cytisine, but less potent. It has a bittersweet taste. As with the cytisine containing Laburnum, its leaves are sometimes taken as a tobacco substitute.
  Canavanine is a common α-amino-acid constituent found in the seeds of all species of Wisteria. It serves as a defense compound against herbivores and provides a vital source of nitrogen for the growing plant embryo. The toxicity of canavanine is due to its extreme structural similarity to L-arginine, which may result in an organism's incorporation of it into proteins in place of L-arginine. This causes aberrant proteins that may not function properly.
caption: Wisteria frutescens seeds in pod halves
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