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Five-leaf Akebia

Akebia quinata

Summary 8

Akebia quinata (Chocolate Vine or Five-leaf Akebia) is a shrub that is native to Japan, China and Korea.

Comments 9

No specimens are known from Rhode Island. 

 A fast-growing, invasive vine whose aggressiveness may at times approach that of Lonicera japonica , Akebia quinata is occasionally planted as an ornamental; it is of more botanical than horticultural interest. A greenish to whitish flowered variant, known from Asia, is cultivated in North America. The edible, though allegedly insipid, fruits are apparently uncommon in cultivation; cross pollination appears to be necessary for their development (C. S. Sargent 1891).

Description and biology 10

  • Plant: woody deciduous, perennial plant that grows either as a twining vine or a groundcover; slender stems are green when young becoming brown when mature.
  • Leaves: alternate, dull blue-green, divided into five stalked leaflets that meet at a central juncture; leaflets are 1½-3 in. long, entire (non-toothed), oval shaped and notched at the tip.
  • Flowers, fruits and seeds: flowers are reddish to purple-brown, about 1 in. across, and have a sweet fragrance likened to chocolate; female flowers are chocolate-purple, male flowers are lighter rosy purple; spring flowering; fruits, if produced at all, are large, soft, edible sausage-shaped pods 2¼-4 in. in length, that ripen in late summer to fall.
  • Spreads: primarily by vegetative means; infrequently by seed.
  • Look-alikes: Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), native to the eastern U.S., has palmate leaves with five leaflets that are toothed.

Prevention and control 11

Young plants can be pulled by hand. Cutting can be done any time of year and vines should be cut to the ground. Vines may be dug up, removing as much of the roots as possible. For large infestations, a systemic herbicide containing glyphosate or triclopyr is effective.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=botany&irn=10358979
  2. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Akebia_quinata02.jpg
  3. (c) ashley CHILE baz, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/28438417@N08/3476849500/
  4. (c) Kenpei, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Akebia_quinata1.jpg
  5. Michael Kesl, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/12788.jpg
  6. (c) John Steel, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by John Steel
  7. (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=botany&irn=10356722
  8. Adapted by Kate Wagner from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akebia_quinata
  9. (c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/19798896
  10. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/22733983
  11. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/22733984

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