Chocolate vine
This afternoon we went for a walk around the golf course, via a footpath between two houses. Climbing over the high garden fence of one of the properties was this striking plant. Later, I discovered in one of my reference books, it is an Akebia quinata, or five -leaf chocolate vine. The flowers are chocolate scented and the evergreen leaves are divided in to five leaflets hence its name. The fruits are sausage shaped pods containing an edible pulp. So, I thought I need one of these! However, on further reading, I found out it is native in Japan and China, where the vines are used for basket weaving, it grows vigorously to 10m or more in height, and it has become invasive in the eastern USA, so actually could perhaps prove to be too much of a good thing!
I think I'll make repeat walks along the footpath to observe how this specimen progresses before I invest in one.
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