Akebia quinata Seeds | Chocolate Vine

Five-fingered leaves and maroon flowers of Chocolate Vine (Akebia quinata) — Chocolate Vine (*Akebia quinata*): Lardizabalaceae, a twining climber of Chinese, Korean and Japanese woodland.

LATIN NAME: Akebia quinata

COMMON NAME: Chocolate Vine, Five-Leaf Akebia

Plant Profile

Chocolate vine is a semi-evergreen climber from China, Korea and Japan, grown for its five-fingered leaves and its unusual spring flowers. The stems twine vigorously and can run ten metres in a season, rooting where they touch the ground, so a plant left alone will gradually build a thicket of layered growth.

The flowers are borne in loose racemes, female flowers larger and deeper purple, male flowers smaller and paler, and both carry a spicy vanilla scent that is strongest in the evening. If pollination succeeds, the plant produces sausage-shaped purple fruit that split to reveal a white, sweet pulp.

Science & Biotechnology

Akebia is one of the few climbers studied both as an ornamental and as a minor fruit crop. Research in Japan and China has looked at the fruit’s sugars and pectin, at the stem’s triterpene saponins, and at the species’ tendency to set little fruit unless a compatible clone is nearby.

Its aggressive growth in the southeastern United States, where it smothers native vegetation, has made it a subject in invasion ecology. Taxonomic work has also clarified its relationship to the other four species in the genus, two of which are grown in gardens and are easily confused with it.

Its fruit is one of the largest produced by any hardy climber, which is part of why it attracts attention.

Uses & Benefits

In the garden it is grown over pergolas and arches, where the spring flowers and the scent carry the display, and as a quick screen on a fence. The fruit is edible but seedy, and is mostly a curiosity outside East Asia, where it is sometimes sold in markets.

The stem is the classical Chinese herb mu tong, used in formulas for urinary and circulatory complaints; the plant also appears in Japanese folk preparations. Because it can self-layer and seed freely, it needs watching in mild, damp climates, particularly near bushland.

The fruit is sold in Japanese markets in autumn, where the pulp is eaten with a spoon and the skin is bitter.

Growing from Seed

Fresh seed germinates best after four weeks of cold, moist stratification. Sow one centimetre deep in a free-draining mix at 18-20C. Seedlings grow fast once they start to climb and need a support almost at once.

Plant out in sun or light shade on any reasonable soil, and water well in the first summer. Prune in late winter to keep the plant within bounds, since unpruned specimens turn into a thicket of old stems with flowers only at the top. Cut back hard if the frame becomes overcrowded. Water generously in summer and sparingly in winter, when the vine is dormant. A sheltered wall speeds establishment and ripens the wood before winter.

Our Take

Chocolate vine is fast, fragrant and hard to stop. Give it a strong frame and a firm hand with the secateurs, and it will pay back with one of the strangest spring displays among climbers.

Herb Seeds