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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.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 4–7
- Soil
- Sand · Loam
- Moisture
- Well-Drained · Moist
Vertical layer
Vine- Soil pH
- 5.5–6.5
- Plant type
- Vine
- Mature height
- 20–30 ft
- Mature spread
- 8.2–13.1 ft
- Plant spacing
- 3–4 ft
- Root type
- Fibrous-shallow
- Spread pattern
- None
Keep exploring
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The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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