Flora of North America species comparison

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Akebia quinata

chocolate-vine, five-leaf, five-leaf akebia
Habit Plants, deciduous to semi-evergreen, climbing to 12 m, glabrous.
Leaves

petiole 1.6-12.5 cm;

leaflets mostly 5, petiolules 0.2-2.2 cm, blades oblong to ovate-elliptic, 0.7-8.2 × 0.4-4.2 cm, base rounded, margins entire, apex retuse.
Inflorescences

pendent, 4.5-12 cm;

pedicel with basal bracts.
Flowers

fragrant.
Staminate flowers

4-15 per inflorescence, 1.2-1.6 cm diam.;

sepals oblong to ovate or elliptic, 5-9 mm;

stamens 4-5 mm.
Pistillate flowers

(0-)1-5 per inflorescence, 2-3 cm diam.;

sepals elliptic to ovate or nearly orbiculate, 10 16mm;

pistils 3-7, 1 or more maturing.
Seeds

black, ovoid, embedded in whitish pulp.
Follicles

glaucous, violet to dark purple, oblong, 5-15 cm.

Akebia quinata
Phenology Flowering spring, fruiting fall (Sep–Oct).
Habitat Waste places, open woodlands
Elevation 0-400 m (0-1300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; GA; IN; KY; MA; MD; MI; NC; NJ; NY; OH; PA; VA; WV; native; Asia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Lardizabalaceae > Akebia
Synonyms Rajania quinata
Name authority (Houttuyn) Decaisne: Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. 1: 195, fig. 1(a-c). (1839)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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