Plant · P-479

Akebia

Akebia quinata

Akebia is a fast-growing twining vine from East Asian mountain woodland that tolerates full shade better than almost any other fruiting climber, thriving anywhere from deep woodland to open ground. Its sweet but bland fruit usually gets a squeeze of lemon juice to perk it up, the young shoots go into salads or pickles, and the peeled stems are pliable enough for basketry - but you need two genetically different plants nearby, since a single clone rarely sets fruit. It self-layers wherever a stem touches soil and naturalizes freely in warm, humid summers, so left unmanaged it can climb over and smother shrubs and other vegetation.