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September 22, 2005 : Akebia quinata
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Keywords: Lardizabalaceae | Akebia quinata (Houtt.) Dcne. | 4327-0156-1987*
Updated Sept. 22, 2005 at 8:50am: see comments re: seedling establishment in recent years.
Long-time readers of Botany Photo of the Day will recall a previous photograph of the female flower of this plant. Here is an image of the fruit taken five months later, from the Alpine Garden at UBC.
Five-leaf akebia, or chocolate vine, is native to southeast Asia. Introduced in 1845 to the eastern United States as an ornamental, Akebia quinata has revealed a tendency to be invasive in that region (all of the groundcover in that photograph). The individual plants at UBC are prolific growers (though almost 20 years old), but seedlings have never been noted and seedlings have now been noted in recent years (see comments) despite favourable conditions nearby.
I've disturbed the fruit in the lower mid-left to show the black seeds. The gelatinous substance surrounding the seeds is edible, and tastes mildly sweet.
In BPotD news, I think the email notification is fixed regarding yesterday's future-dated postings problem. I'll confirm that it's working sometime in the next few days. If you're an email subscriber, you missed yesterday's posting on Hordeum jubatum, so please be sure to read it (the first comment also has an explanation of the future-dated postings problem).
Also, during correspondence with Apple, I learned that they felt that the Botany Photo of the Day Widget is best categorized under “webcam” (and they've moved the Astronomy Picture of the Day Widget there), so here's the direct link: Botany Photo of the Day Widget. If you're a Macintosh Tiger user, download and install it to get BPotD on your Dashboard daily!
Photography resource link: For inspiration, the photography of Ross Wordhouse, self-proclaimed “panoscape” photographer.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at September 22, 2005 3:04 AM
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Posted by: Ruth Beaty at September 22, 2005 7:20 AM
A quick note about the lovely Akebia and its fruit posted today. Conditions for its success in the Pacific Northwest must be improving, as numerous seedlings are in fact noticed in the alpine garden around the parent plant and pulled out as they emerge. Perhaps in future this may have to be included as another "potential invasive" plant in this area - Hedera and Ilex are two other genera that come to mind.
Posted by: Brent Hine at September 22, 2005 7:37 AM
Thank you for your reply re: puff balls. Is there a lexicon for finding the botanical name of plants, of whom I only know the common name. I went to the web site sugested, however, without the botanical name, I am lost. Thank you.
Posted by: Patricia at September 22, 2005 10:23 AM
Ruth: the site is here: Cal's Plant of the Week. You can also find a compiled and roughly categorized list of all resource links that I add here: Del.icio.us Botany Photo of the Day Social Bookmarks.
Brent - thanks, I suppose I've never noticed it to be a problem due to your attentive care!
Patricia: I don't think I can point you to one on the web. I searched on Google for the terms “puffball” and “volk”, and came up with this page on Lycoperdon pyriforme, which seems like a good place to start your search. It's a very common puffball, with one of the most descriptive common names for any organism.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at September 22, 2005 11:01 AM
Thanks again for the recent photograph of rabbit brush(September 14). I was able to identify it at once growing over acres and acres in Lassen National Park in California earlier this week, in bloom over entire hillsides. The park people said it is browsed by rabbits and deer.
Posted by: Anthony at September 22, 2005 6:18 PM
Patricia
I tried several websites I know, but didn't come up with much information on puffballs. Daniel's suggestion may lead you in the right direction. Another common puffball is Lycoperdon perlatum. I checked Mushrooms Demystified and there's over 20 pages devoted to puffballs, so if you can get a copy of the book somehow, you might be able to narrow things down.
Matt
Posted by: matt at September 22, 2005 8:30 PM
Hi! I just wanted to say what beautiful pictures you have for us everyday....thank you very much! I am wondering...since you have showed us the chocolate vine...if you can get us some pictures of the chocolate trees and their fruits. I've seen them in Guatemala but my friends haven't and I'd like for them to experience what I already have in person.
Thanks again!
Posted by: Flor at September 23, 2005 9:07 PM
Flor - the first opportunity I get to take a picture of Theobroma cacao, I will. Can't promise when that will be, though!
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin at September 26, 2005 1:44 AM
Two things.
One, that colour, in the fruit, is truly astonishing. I've seen colours like it on flowers, but never on a fruit. It looks to me like the blue version of the Jade Vine's green, if you know what I mean.
Two, I'll see if I can look out some Theobroma images. I'm sure I've got some somewhere, but they may be only of diseases!
Posted by: Jeremy Cherfas at September 27, 2005 3:26 AM
Where can I buy a couple of chocolate vine plants to grow over a grotesque fence? Neither Gardenworks or Maple Leaf Garden Centre anticipates getting any.
Thank you.
Posted by: Constance McCormick at March 7, 2008 4:55 PM
We have a fiveleaf akebia on our trellis here in Atlanta, GA. We've had it for five years and it is doing extremely well. This is the first year we've had fruit, which we discovered today. It is not as ripe as the photo shown here as the shell is still light green. Fall 2008
Posted by: Hilary Taylor at September 28, 2008 3:48 PM
We have lived in St. Louis for three years and I just noticed the quite large and beautiful blue pod hanging from the five leafed vine shading our sun room window. It was wonderful to discover its history and its name Akebia quineta. I had enjoyed the vine and its brown flowers but not enough to make me curious about my vine. The pod was a different story. It's truly spectacular!
Posted by: Nancy Chapman at September 12, 2009 12:17 PM
Akebia is great, and can be invasive. I make a jelly out of the edible part of the fruit. I get lots of comments about "spreading vasoline" on toast. The jelly very much resembles Vasoline. Tastes is reminiscent of pear.
Posted by: Fred at September 22, 2009 12:44 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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I have tried to subscribe to OK University's plant of the week and just got nonsense replies about being enque and not being processed. Could you run the website's addy again so I can contact them? I'm a former Okie so would like to subscribe to it-tho I didn't go to OU! (Eeewwww!) Must say I miss many of the plants from their, but not the Poison Ivy and the severe reaction it used to give me. It even grew in our backyard in downtown OKC.