Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Akebia quinata
FAMILY
Lardizabalaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
This is a climbing vine, potentially to 40 feet high. The leaves are well-spaced, stalked, each with 5 elliptical leaflets, rounded at the tips. The flowers are small and inconspicuous, but fragrant. Learn more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
This species is likely to become a serious invasive alien in the Southeast over the next decades; it forms dense mats in natural forests and is difficult to eradicate, per Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Akebia quinata
FAMILY
Lardizabalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Akebia quinata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Akebia quinata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 078-01-001:
Akebia quinata FAMILY Lardizabalaceae
COMMON NAME:
Five-leaf Akebia, Chocolate-vine
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm150201_679
February Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm150201_685
February Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm150407_198
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Likely to become a serious invasive alien in the Southeast in the next decades, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
)
JK Marlow jkm150407_200
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
It forms dense mats in natural forests and is difficult to eradicate, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
)
JK Marlow jkm150407_202
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm150407_203
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm150407_204
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Five broadly oval leaflets arranged in a palm fan shape, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).
COMPARE
compound leaves of vines
)
JK Marlow jkm150407_207
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Long-stalked clusters of small flowers have fragrance likened to chocolate, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).
)
JK Marlow jkm150407_208
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm150407_212
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm150407_214
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Male flwrs smaller in terminal clusters; female 1-1.5" wide, on long stalks, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).
)
JK Marlow jkm150422_394
April Jackson County NC
)
Susan Lochridge slo_20140404
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
Susan Lochridge slo_20140404b
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140814_551
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140814_554
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Its vigorous climbing vines cover and kill small trees and shrubs, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).
)
JK Marlow jkm140814_559
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Leaflets obovate to elliptic to oblong, terminal leaflet usually largest, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).
)
JK Marlow jkm140814_620
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140814_622
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140814_623
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140814_624
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140922_851
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Holding its own with Kudzu.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Akebia quinata
FAMILY
Lardizabalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Akebia quinata
FAMILY
Lardizabalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Akebia quinata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Akebia quinata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 078-01-001:
Akebia quinata
FAMILY
Lardizabalaceae
45
Woody vine
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Escaped from cultivation to roadbanks, suburban woodlands, and floodplains, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Japan, China & Korea
Rare now, likely to be a serious invasive in the Southeast over the next decade
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Forest Health Assessment & Applied Sciences Team: New Invaders of the Northeast
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
LEAVES:
Deciduous/Semi-evergreen
Palmately compound: 5 leaflets
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Purplish/ Purple
3-merous
3 sepals (usually)
Petals absent
6 stamens in staminate flowers
Functionally unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer
Purple/Violet
Follicle
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p202
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010) p064
- New Invaders of the Northeast and Northcentral US (Rawlins et al., 2018) p041
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p059
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p07
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p052
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