Plant · P-478

Magnolia Vine

Schisandra chinensis

Magnolia Vine is a shade-loving twining vine of cool East Asian woodland, grown almost entirely for its dried fruit, wu wei zi, one of the fifty fundamental herbs of Chinese herbalism and used for everything from cough and insomnia to liver support. The fresh berries themselves are sweet-sour and edible too, usually dried for keeping, but you need both a male and female vine nearby - or the self-fertile Eastern Prince cultivar - before either one fruits. It wants a shaded, moist woodland site and cannot take drought or a hot summer, and even within its comfortable range it has a reputation for growing well without setting much fruit.