Five-leaf Chocolate Vine Akebia quinata
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- a-KEE-bee-uh kwi-NAY-tuh
- Description
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Chocolate vine or five-leaf akebia is a deciduous to semi-evergreen twining woody vine in the Lardizabalaceae family. The genus name Akebia comes from the Japanese word for twining and qunitata is Latin for five which refers to the five parted compound leaves. It is a large very vigorous vine growing up to 40 feet with graceful palmately compound leaves. It is very easy to grow in ordinary, well-drained soil and while it prefers full sun it can withstand deep shade conditions.
The red-purple, fragrant blooms appear in early spring with the leaves and can be lost among the five-parted green leaves. Flowers appear on old wood, so prune after flowering. Large sausage-shaped purple fruit split open in the fall to reveal edible white flesh and tiny black seeds. They will die back with a hard freeze but will remain evergreen in warmer climates. It grows rapidly and can overtake shrubs and other vegetation in the landscape if not kept in check. Their rampant growth requires heavy pruning, and even then, it is difficult to manage.
This plant tolerates drought, wet sites, deer browsing, erosion, and heavy shade. There are some white and pale pink cultivars as well as some with variegated foliage.
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
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious insect or disease problems. Though not designated a noxious weed by the Federal Government, several states list it on their invasive species lists and environmental groups consider this plant too invasive to plant where it can spread or reseed itself into natural areas and crowd out native plants. It is listed as an invasive species by the NC Invasive Plant Council. Please choose a native or less problematic plant listed to the left.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- 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:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Akebia
- Species:
- quinata
- Family:
- Lardizabalaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- The vines are used for basketweaving.
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- China, Korea, and Japan
- Wildlife Value:
- Birds eat the fruits and disperse the seeds.
- 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
- Herbaceous Perennial
- Vine
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Semi-evergreen
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- High
- Texture:
- Fine
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 24-60 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Purple/Lavender
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Follicle
- Fruit Length:
- > 3 inches
- Fruit Description:
- 4 inch long fleshy ovoid cucumber-shaped purple fruit which split open in the fall to reveal edible white flesh, similar to dragon fruit, and tiny black seeds.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Gold/Yellow
- Green
- Purple/Lavender
- Red/Burgundy
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Raceme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Small, reddish to purple, spicy, fragrant flowers in mid-spring. Male and female flowers in the same raceme. Fragrant chocolate-purple flowers appear on old wood, so prune after flowering. Pendulous dangling racemes, 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:
- Blue
- Green
- Purple/Lavender
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Elliptical
- Oblong
- Obovate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Alternate, palmately compound, 5 leaflets; leaflets are 1"-3" long oblong-obovate or elliptic, emarginate, rotund, entire, bright blue-green above, glaucous beneath, becoming purple in cold weater; petiolules 1 cm long.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Green
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Slender, twining, green when young turning brown.
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Landscape:
- Attracts:
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Diseases
- Drought
- Erosion
- Heavy Shade
- Insect Pests
- Problems:
- Weedy