Akebia quinata
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- a-KEE-bee-uh kwi-NAY-tuh
- Description
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A deciduous to semi-evergreen twining woody vine to 40 feet. with graceful palmately compound leaves. They have five elliptic to oblong-elliptic leaflets that are bright green above and glaucous below. It is very easy to grow in ordinary, well-drained soil. Male and female vines produce fragrant chocolate-purple flowers on old wood, so prune after flowering. Flowers are followed by a large sausage-shaped purple fruit which split open in the fall to reveal edible white flesh and tiny black seeds. It may be cut to the ground to rejuvenate a leggy plant. It grows rapidly and can over-take other shrubs and other vegetation in the landscape if not kept in check.
Blooms appear in early spring with leaves and can be lost in foliage; staminate and pistillate flowers bloom at different times to prevent selfing; leaves are schefflera-like and die off green with a hard freeze; rampant growth requires heavy pruning; there are some white and pale pink cultivars as well as some with variegated foliage.
Tolerates drought and moisture, sun or shade; vigorous, rapid growth; transplants easily;
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious insect or disease problems. Though not designated a noxious weed by the Federal Government, environmental groups consider this plant too invasive to plant where it can spread or reseed itself into natural areas and crowd out native plants.
Quick ID Hints:
- Schefflera-like, palmately compound leaves
- Flowers pendulous, 3-petaloid, purple-brown
- Purplish, sausage-shaped, pulpy, seamed fruit
- Deciduous, woody, twining vine
- Leaves and flowers on dwarf shoots
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Paul J Ciener Botanical Garden
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Alba'
- 'Compacta'
- 'Rosea'
- 'Shirobara'
- 'Variegata'
- 'Alba'
- 'Alba' , 'Compacta', 'Rosea' , 'Shirobara', 'Variegata'
- Tags:









- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Alba'
- 'Compacta'
- 'Rosea'
- 'Shirobara'
- 'Variegata'
- 'Alba'
- 'Alba' , 'Compacta', 'Rosea' , 'Shirobara', 'Variegata'
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Akebia
- Species:
- quinata
- Family:
- Lardizabalaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Wildlife Value:
- Birds eat the fruits.
- Play Value:
- Attractive Flowers
- Edible fruit
- Fragrance
- Wildlife Food Source
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- pests, diseases,
- Climbing Method:
- Twining
- Edibility:
- The inner white flesh of the fruit is edible and sweet, tastes like a combination of watermelon crossed with a canteloupe, however, many have a negative attitude toward eating the slimy mold-like tissue.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Edible
- Vine
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Semi-evergreen
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- High
- Texture:
- Fine
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 24-60 feet
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Purple/Lavender
- White
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Follicle
- Fruit Description:
- The inner white flesh of the fruit is edible. Seed is large and hard and in a pod that resembles a purple cucumber. Flowers are followed by a large sausage shaped purple fruit which split open in the fall to reveal edible white flesh and tiny black seeds. A fleshy, ovoid-oblong follicle, purple.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Gold/Yellow
- Purple/Lavender
- Red/Burgundy
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Raceme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Small, reddish to purple, spicy, fragrant flowers in mid-spring. Male and female vines produce fragrant chocolate-purple flowers on old wood, so prune after flowering. Pendulous raceme, axillary. 2-5, maroon to chocolate-brown, fragrant, 1"; petals lacking; sepals 3, concave; male flowers smaller, clustered; female flowers on elongate pedicels, few. Flowers must be hand-pollinated to produce fruit.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Semi-evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Elliptical
- Oblong
- Obovate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Description:
- Palmately compound leaves that have five elliptic to oblong-ellptic leaflets that are bright green above and glaucous below. Alternate, palmately compound, 5 leaflets; leaflets oblong-obovate or elliptic, emarginate, rotund, entire, bluish-green above, glaucous beneath; petiolules 1 cm long.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Green
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Slender, twining, green to brown.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Recreational Play Area
- Landscape Theme:
- Children's Garden
- Edible Garden
- Attracts:
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Diseases
- Insect Pests
- Problems:
- Weedy