Akebia quinata –commonly known as chocolate vine, five-leaf chocolate vine,[1]orfive-leaf akebia– is a shrub that is native to Japan, China and Korea, commonly used as an ornamental / edible plant in the United States and Europe.[2] In its native habitat, it is often found on hills, in hedges, on trees, along forest edges and streams, and on mountainous slopes.[3]
Akebia quinata is a climbing evergreen shrub that grows to 10 m (30 ft) or more in height and has palmately compound leaves with five elliptic or obovate leaflets that are notched at the tip.[4] The woody stems are greyish-brown with lenticels.[3] The flowers are clustered in racemes and are chocolate-scented, with three or four sepals. The fruits are sausage-shaped pods which contain edible pulp.[5][6] The gelatinous placentation contains seeds surrounded with white pulp, that has a sweet flavor.[citation needed]
The fruit contains a sweet soft pulp resembling a white dragon fruit, eaten primarily in Japan as a seasonal delicacy. The rind, with a slight bitter taste, is used as vegetable, stuffed with ground meat and deep-fried.
Often eaten fresh, the Akebia fruit is best after it fully opens naturally on the vine.[7] The fruiting season is from September to October.[8] The seeds are very bitter and can even lead to throat irritation if chewed. They are discarded by spitting out or simply swallowing them whole. The fruit can be processed into jams, jellies, drinks and even added to smoothies or ice-creams.[7]
Akebia quinata is often grown as an ornamental plant in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. It is primarily used to cover less attractive spots on the sides of businesses or a ground cover to prevent erosion of hills.[9] The flowers bloom generally in April - May[10] and produce a "chocolatey" aroma which is often compared to vanilla or sometimes nutmeg rather than chocolate.[9]
Various breeders of the plant have created new subspecies with their own unique colored flowers. One of these is the "Silver Bells" Akebia which has silvery white flowers with purple stamen.[11] (see photo in Gallery)
Traditionally, the vines have been used for basket-weaving which may help reduce the spread of this plant in the Eastern United States.
The dried rinds have been used in Japanese fertility festivals and due to their vulva-like appearance it is thought to increase the fertility of women, although there is no scientific evidence to support these claims.
Cultivation
[edit]A bunch of Akebia fruit growing on a vine in western Washington)
Akebia prefers sandy soils with good drainage, and regular watering, though it is drought resistant.[14] In some areas the plant is an invasive species to be avoided.[15][16] This species is considered hardy in all of the United Kingdom and Europe (down to -15 to -20 °C).[4] In the US, it suitable for hardiness zones 4–9.[17]
Akebia quinata, and all Akebia species for that matter, will not produce fruit if not 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 to sausage-like fruits.[18]
Akebia comes from the Japanese vernacular name, akebi (木通)),[8][10][19]akebi was originally written as 開け実 derived from akeru (開ける, "to open") and mi (実, "fruit"), due to how its fruit splits open when ripe.[20][21]
Young fruit of Akebia forming
Quinata means 'divided into five' and is presumably a reference to its lobed leaves.[19]
Distribution
[edit]Range of Akebia quinata worldwide (only includes reports confirmed by botanists.) Potential numbers may far exceed what is shown in this map.
Akebia quinata is native to China, Japan (all major islands except Hokkaido[10]) and the Korean peninsula,[22] but is cultivated globally.
This map represents sightings of both wild and cultivated plants.
^ abThompson, John Peter (November 22, 2019). "Akebia quinata (five-leaf akebia)". CABI Invasive Species Compendium. Archived from the original on 2017-07-25. Retrieved April 21, 2021.