Shrub of the Month-February 2010
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Chocolate Vine
(Akebia quinata)
Celebrate chocolate with February's Shrub of the Month, chocolate vine. This fast-growing woody vine can be found in the Japan Collection, north of Parking Lot 18.
The small fragrant flowers that give this vine its name bloom in mid-May or earlier. These tiny purple-brown flowers, which grow in groups of 2 to 5, often get lost among the foliage but bear a sweet fragrance vaguely reminiscent of chocolate. The glossy compound leaves grow in clusters of five leaflets, which are an appealing blue-green color. The slender, twisting vines emerge green but turn brown with age.
Chocolate vine came to the United States in 1845 from its native eastern Asia as an ornamental. It escaped from cultivation and has become naturalized in warmer climates. It has little trouble spreading by vegetative means and can grow twenty to forty feet in a single growing season.
Mature size: 20 to 40 feet
Rate of growth: Rapid
Visit this vine in all seasons to see its changing features!
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| Leaf | Flower |
Click to enlarge photo