NAME:  Chocolate Vine

OTHER COMMON NAMES:  Fiveleaf Akebia / Wild Banana

SCIENTIFIC NAME:  Akebia Quinata

COLOR:  Red-Brown Flowers

PLANT SEEDS:  Outdoors after frost / Fall / Cold stratify / Indoors weeks before last frost

BLOOM TIME:  Mid Spring (April)

HARDINESS ZONE:  4 - 8

PLANT HEIGHT:  4 - 6'

PLANT SPACING:  9 - 12"

LIGHT REQUIREMENTS:  Sun - Part Shade

SOIL & WATER PREFERENCES:  Average

OTHER:  The Chocolate Vine is a fast growing ornamental with edible fruit. The beautiful flowers are fragrant with a sweet light chocolate scent! The fruit pods are 5" long & look like bluish-purple cucumbers! The pulp of the fruit is eaten, & can be enjoyed raw, dried,  or used to make juice, wine, or jelly. The pulp is gelatinous & has a sweet delicate tropical flavor, slightly similar to coconut milk. These lovely plants can grow in full shade, & will tolerate rocky, sandy, or clay soil. The Chocolate Vine’s leaves are evergreen in warmer climates. The leaves are used to make a tea, & the stems are used for basket weaving.