Five-leaf Akebia

Akebia quinata

アケビ

Lardizabalaceae

Akebia quinata is a deciduous-to-semi-evergreen climber long woven

Native Edible Container Wildlife value: medium Maintenance: medium vine

Planting calendar (Tokyo baseline)

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	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Planting
Flowering
Fruiting

Tokyo baseline: months 3, 4, 10

Growing requirements

Light	sun → part shade
Water	medium
Soil	deep, free-draining loam; tolerant once established
Hardiness	Tokyo lowland
Container	Yes · Min container size: 30 L
Maintenance	medium
Common issues	aphids on new growth (transient); rabbits / deer browse young vines outside the city

Where to source

Seedlings, divisions, or seed. Native plant suppliers in Japan are the right starting point.

Search Japanese suppliers for seedlings · native-plant suppliers

About this native

Akebia quinata is a deciduous-to-semi-evergreen climber long woven into Japanese rural foodways: ripe pulp, young shoots, and the empty fruit-skin are all used. Spring flowers are chocolate-purple and faintly fragrant — small native bees and flies are the main visitors. The vine is monoecious but strongly self-incompatible: plant at least two genetically distinct individuals if you want reliable fruit. Pods split along a single seam in early autumn to reveal sweet translucent pulp around black seeds. Vigorous in sun, accepting of light shade, and noticeably drought-tolerant once roots are down. Train on a stout pergola or fence — the wood ages picturesquely.

Usage

Pergola, fence, large container. For fruit, plant two distinct vines. Young shoots are a classic spring sansai (mountain vegetable). The hollow fruit-skin is stuffed and grilled in Tōhoku cuisine.

Practical info

Native	Yes
Edible	Yes
Edible parts	ripe pulp (raw, dessert-sweet); young shoots (山菜 sansai — blanched and dressed); immature fruit skin (sliced, stuffed and grilled in northern Tōhoku cuisine)
Wildlife value	medium
Attracts	insects: native bees and small flies (spring nectar; the flowers smell faintly of chocolate) mammals: small mammals dispersed seeds historically (now mainly humans and birds)

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Sources

Primary references, publications, and observation data this page draws on. How sources are picked is described in About the data .