Chocolate Vine

The Chocolate Vine (Akebia quinata) is a semi-evergreen to deciduous, twining climber in the family Lardizabalaceae, native to China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. It has become naturalised in parts of Europe and has been widely planted as an ornamental in temperate gardens, where it is also regarded as an invasive species in some regions of the eastern United States. The common name chocolate vine refers both to the unusual brownish-purple colouration of its small, vanilla-scented flowers borne in early spring and to the chocolate-purple, sausage-shaped fruits that ripen in autumn. Leaves are distinctively palmate, divided into five ovate leaflets. The pendulous fruit capsules, up to 10 centimetres long, split open when ripe to reveal white edible flesh and numerous black seeds, and are eaten in Japan as a seasonal delicacy. The plant is vigorous and fast-growing, capable of climbing to 10 metres through supporting vegetation, and it can become invasive in warm, humid climates where it is not native. In Japan and China, the stems are used in traditional basket weaving. The IUCN does not evaluate this species; it is listed as Not Evaluated. Its invasive potential in North America makes it a species of management concern in certain protected natural areas.