helenann

By helenann

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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