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Akebia quinata
Also called Five-leaf Akebia, Fiveleaf Akebia, Five Leaf, Five Leaved Akebia, Fiveleaf, Five Leaf Chocolate Vine
Akebia quinata is a fast-growing, semi-evergreen climbing vine from East Asia, grown for its fragrant chocolate-scented flowers and fruit. It is hardy and tolerant of drought once established, but can be invasive in some areas.
Akebia quinata –commonly known as akebi (木通), chocolate vine, five-leaf chocolate vine, or five-leaf akebia– is a vine that is native to Japan, China and Korea, commonly used as an ornamental or edible plant in the United States and Europe. In its native habitat, it is often found on hills, in hedges, on trees, along forest edges and streams, and on mountainous slopes.
Akebia prefers sandy soils with good drainage, and regular watering, though it is drought resistant. In some areas the plant is an invasive species to be avoided. This species is considered hardy in all of Europe (down to −15 to −20 °C). In the US, it suitable for hardiness zones 4–9.
Akebia quinata, and all Akebia species for that matter, will only produce fruit if pollinated by a genetically different plant (e.g., male flowers from the mother plant or the male flowers from a clone of the mother plant will not be able to pollinate the female flowers). Two separate varieties or two Akebia grown from separate seeds are needed to produce the sausage-like fruits.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Akebia quinata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
