Schisandra chinensis Seeds | Chinese Magnolia Vine
LATIN NAME: Schisandra chinensis
COMMON NAME: Five-flavor Berry
Plant Profile
Five-flavour berry is a deciduous woody vine, 5-8 m, with alternate oval leaves and small cream flowers in late spring, followed by clusters of bright red berries in autumn. The berries are the crop, and they are dried for medicine and used fresh in drinks.
The common name refers to the taste: the skin is sour and sweet, the flesh salty, and the seed bitter and pungent, so a single berry carries all five flavours of Chinese cooking. That is a genuinely unusual property, and it is the reason the plant is called wu wei zi.
Schisandra chinensis comes from the forests of north-eastern China, Korea and eastern Russia, where it climbs through mixed woodland. It is hardy to about -30°C, which makes it one of the few medicinal vines that can be grown in a cold garden.
Science & Biotechnology
The berries contain lignans, chiefly schisandrin, schisandrol and deoxyschisandrin, which are the basis of most of the pharmacological work. Extracts have shown hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory and adaptogenic activity in animal studies, and the herb is used in Chinese practice for liver complaints and for fatigue.
Schisandrin B in particular has been studied for its effect on liver enzymes and on oxidative stress, and it is one of the compounds that has attracted interest outside China. Human trials remain small and mostly Chinese-language.
The plant also has a real interaction profile: it induces liver enzymes, which can change the blood levels of other drugs. That is worth knowing for anyone taking medication, and it is a reason the herb is used under supervision.
Uses & Benefits
The dried berries are used in Chinese medicine, in formulas and as a tonic, and they are also made into a sour drink and a jam. In Russia the berry has a history of use as a stimulant for hunters and for soldiers.
In the garden the vine is grown for its red fruit and its autumn colour, and it is a good climber for a cold wall. Commercially the berries are a traded herb and a minor fruit crop, and the seed is sold to growers. The plant needs both a male and a female for reliable fruit.
Growing from Seed
Soak the seed for 24 hours, then stratify for three months at 3-5°C. Sow 1 cm deep at 18-20°C; germination is slow and uneven, often two to three months. Fresh seed gives the best results.
Plant out at 2 m apart against a wall or a strong trellis, in sun or light shade, in soil that holds moisture. Water well through the first two summers. Prune in late winter to keep the vine within bounds, and plant at least two vines for pollination, since the species is dioecious. Vines are slow to establish and may not fruit until their fourth year, so plant them where they can stay undisturbed.
Our Take
A cold-hardy vine with genuinely strange fruit, worth growing for the berries and for the autumn colour on a north wall.
Related Reading
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