Ripe fruit of Akebia quinata
Long-time readers of Botany Photo of the Day will recall a previous photograph of the female flower of this plant. Here is an image of the fruit taken five months later, from the Alpine Garden at UBC.
Five-leaf akebia, or chocolate vine, is native to southeast Asia. Introduced in 1845 to the eastern United States as an ornamental, Akebia quinata has revealed a tendency to be invasive in that region (all of the groundcover in that photograph). The individual plants at UBC are prolific growers (though almost 20 years old), but seedlings are rarely noted (see comments below–I had originally written never noted) despite favourable conditions nearby.
I’ve disturbed the fruit in the lower mid-left to show the black seeds. The gelatinous substance surrounding the seeds is edible, and tastes mildly sweet.
I have tried to subscribe to OK University’s plant of the week and just got nonsense replies about being enque and not being processed. Could you run the website’s addy again so I can contact them? I’m a former Okie so would like to subscribe to it-tho I didn’t go to OU! (Eeewwww!) Must say I miss many of the plants from their, but not the Poison Ivy and the severe reaction it used to give me. It even grew in our backyard in downtown OKC.
A quick note about the lovely Akebia and its fruit posted today. Conditions for its success in the Pacific Northwest must be improving, as numerous seedlings are in fact noticed in the alpine garden around the parent plant and pulled out as they emerge. Perhaps in future this may have to be included as another “potential invasive” plant in this area – Hedera and Ilex are two other genera that come to mind.
Thank you for your reply re: puff balls. Is there a lexicon for finding the botanical name of plants, of whom I only know the common name. I went to the web site sugested, however, without the botanical name, I am lost. Thank you.
Ruth: the site is here: Cal’s Plant of the Week.
Brent – thanks, I suppose I’ve never noticed it to be a problem due to your attentive care!
Patricia: I don’t think I can point you to one on the web. I searched on Google for the terms “puffball” and “volk”, and came up with this page on Lycoperdon pyriforme, which seems like a good place to start your search. It’s a very common puffball, with one of the most descriptive common names for any organism.
Thanks again for the recent photograph of rabbit brush(September 14). I was able to identify it at once growing over acres and acres in Lassen National Park in California earlier this week, in bloom over entire hillsides. The park people said it is browsed by rabbits and deer.
Patricia
I tried several websites I know, but didn’t come up with much information on puffballs. Daniel’s suggestion may lead you in the right direction. Another common puffball is Lycoperdon perlatum. I checked Mushrooms Demystified and there’s over 20 pages devoted to puffballs, so if you can get a copy of the book somehow, you might be able to narrow things down.
Matt
Hi! I just wanted to say what beautiful pictures you have for us everyday….thank you very much! I am wondering…since you have showed us the chocolate vine…if you can get us some pictures of the chocolate trees and their fruits. I’ve seen them in Guatemala but my friends haven’t and I’d like for them to experience what I already have in person.
Thanks again!
Flor – the first opportunity I get to take a picture of Theobroma cacao, I will. Can’t promise when that will be, though!
Two things.
One, that colour, in the fruit, is truly astonishing. I’ve seen colours like it on flowers, but never on a fruit. It looks to me like the blue version of the Jade Vine’s green, if you know what I mean.
Two, I’ll see if I can look out some Theobroma images. I’m sure I’ve got some somewhere, but they may be only of diseases!
Where can I buy a couple of chocolate vine plants to grow over a grotesque fence? Neither Gardenworks or Maple Leaf Garden Centre anticipates getting any.
Thank you.
We have a fiveleaf akebia on our trellis here in Atlanta, GA. We’ve had it for five years and it is doing extremely well. This is the first year we’ve had fruit, which we discovered today. It is not as ripe as the photo shown here as the shell is still light green. Fall 2008
We have lived in St. Louis for three years and I just noticed the quite large and beautiful blue pod hanging from the five leafed vine shading our sun room window. It was wonderful to discover its history and its name Akebia quineta. I had enjoyed the vine and its brown flowers but not enough to make me curious about my vine. The pod was a different story. It’s truly spectacular!
Akebia is great, and can be invasive. I make a jelly out of the edible part of the fruit. I get lots of comments about “spreading vasoline” on toast. The jelly very much resembles Vasoline. Tastes is reminiscent of pear.
I moved into my house in January in South Lyon Michigan this year. This vine has been intriguing me
since it began to flower in April! It does smell wonderful, not really like chocolate. I am so happy to discover what it is, and that it also might produce fruit! My vine is very large, covering the whole right side of my deck wall. The house was built in the 80’s, so it could be over 20 years old.
My flowers have the frosted purple three petaled look, with a cluster of small white flowers just to the side of it.
Thanks for being here!