Chocolate vine (Akebia quinata)

Synonyms: Rajania quinata, Akebia micrantha

Common Names: Fiveleaf akebia, akebi, raisin vine

Description:

Chocolate vine (Akebia quinata) is a fast-growing twining vine from Japan, China, and Korea that was brought to North America in the 1800s as an ornamental [2][3]. It climbs over trees and shrubs and also spreads across the ground as a dense mat, smothering the plants beneath it [1]. MISIN tracks it because it grows extremely fast ? up to 40 feet in a single year ? and forms thick blankets that crowd out native plants in forests, wetlands, and disturbed areas [1].

Habit:

Chocolate vine is a woody perennial vine that both twines up trees and structures and creeps along the ground, where its stems root wherever they touch soil [1]. Its leaves are the easiest clue: each leaf is divided into a fan of usually five small, oval leaflets on a single long stalk (this is why it is also called fiveleaf akebia) [2]. The leaflets are blue-green and stay on the vine into winter in milder areas, turning purplish in the cold [2]. In mid-spring it produces small, reddish to chocolate-purple, spicy-scented flowers in dangling clusters [2].

It is easiest to spot in spring, when the small purple flowers bloom and the fresh five-part leaves stand out, and again in winter, when its semi-evergreen leaves stay green after most native vines have dropped theirs [2]. Where it fruits, it produces an unusual sausage-shaped purple pod in fall, though it often does not fruit in cooler climates [1][2].

At-a-glance cues:

1. Leaves divided into a fan of usually five small oval leaflets on one long stalk [2]
2. Twining woody vine that also forms a dense groundcover mat, rooting where stems touch the soil [1]
3. Small, reddish to chocolate-purple, spicy-scented flowers in dangling clusters in mid-spring [2]
4. Semi-evergreen ? leaves often stay on the vine into winter, turning purplish in the cold [2]

Leaves:

1. Arrangement: alternate, and divided into leaflets that spread from one point like fingers (palmately compound), usually 5 per leaf [2]
2. Shape: leaflets oblong to oval, about 1 to 3 inches long, with smooth or slightly notched edges [2]
3. Color: blue-green, turning purplish in cold weather [2]
4. Retention: semi-evergreen ? leaves often persist into winter in milder areas [2]

Stems:

1. Habit: a woody perennial vine that twines up supports and also trails along the ground as a dense groundcover; extremely fast-growing, up to 40 feet in one year [1][2]
2. Spread: ground stems take root where they touch the soil, letting the plant form thick mats [1]
3. Color: green when young, turning brown with age [2]

Flowers:

1. Color: reddish to chocolate-purple [2]
2. Shape: small, with a spicy, sweet fragrance [2]
3. Arrangement: in dangling clusters (racemes); male and female flowers are borne on the same plant [2]
4. Bloom time: mid-spring [2]

Fruit and seeds:

1. Fruit type: a fleshy, sausage- or cucumber-shaped pod about 4 inches long [2]
2. Color: purple, splitting open along one side in fall to reveal white pulp [2]
3. Seeds: many tiny black seeds ? roughly 100 to 200 per pod [1]
4. Note: it often does not set fruit in cooler climates and spreads mostly by its creeping, rooting stems instead [1]

Habitat:

Chocolate vine is native to Japan, China, and Korea [2][3]. It was brought to North America as a garden vine and has escaped into the wild, mainly in the eastern United States [2][4].

It grows in a wide range of conditions, from full sun to shade, and invades forests, forest edges, wetlands, and disturbed ground [1]. Once it gets a foothold, it climbs into trees and shrubs and spreads outward across the forest floor as a dense mat [1].

Reproduction:

Chocolate vine spreads mostly on its own from the ground up [1]. Its trailing stems root wherever they touch the soil, so a single plant can creep outward and form a thick mat, and pieces of stem can start new plants [1]. It can also make seeds ? its purple pods hold 100 to 200 tiny black seeds ? but in cooler climates it often does not fruit, so most spread is from the creeping stems [1].

It is a long-lived woody vine that flowers in spring and, where conditions allow, ripens its pods in fall [2]. It grows astonishingly fast, putting on up to 40 feet in a single season [1]. For control, the key is to act early and keep at it ? cut and dig out the vines and their roots before they blanket an area, and repeat over time because the plant resprouts [1].

Impact and Damage:

For homeowners, chocolate vine is a pretty ornamental that quickly gets out of hand. It grows so fast and so densely that it climbs over and smothers shrubs and small trees and blankets the ground up to a foot deep, and it is hard to remove once established [1]. It easily jumps the garden fence into nearby woods [1].

For natural area stewards, the dense growth is the main problem. Chocolate vine climbs trees and forms a thick groundcover that shades and smothers the plants beneath it, which reduces the regeneration of native trees and shrubs and crowds out understory wildflowers [1]. Because it tolerates everything from full sun to deep shade and invades forests, wetlands, and disturbed sites alike, it can spread through many habitats [1]. Catching and removing new patches early is the most effective way to limit the damage [1].

Similar species:

A couple of vines are mistaken for chocolate vine, mostly because of its five-part leaves. The surest checks are its fan of usually five smooth-edged leaflets and its twining, mat-forming habit [2].

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is a native vine that is often confused with it because it, too, usually has five leaflets spreading from one point. Virginia creeper is told apart by its toothed leaflet edges and by how it climbs ? it grips with branched tendrils tipped by small sticky pads, while chocolate vine simply twines, and Virginia creeper bears blue-black berries [2].

Threeleaf akebia (Akebia trifoliata) is a close relative also grown as an ornamental that can escape. It is best separated by its leaves, which have three leaflets rather than five, with wavier or coarsely toothed edges [2].

Monitoring and rapid response:

Signs to watch for:

1. Fast-growing woody vines with leaves divided into a fan of about five small leaflets, climbing shrubs and trees or matting the ground [1][2]
2. Small reddish to chocolate-purple, spicy-scented flowers in dangling clusters in mid-spring [2]
3. Semi-evergreen leaves that stay green into winter, after native vines have dropped theirs [2]

What you can do:

1. Pull or dig out vines and their roots while plants are small and the soil is moist, removing the creeping ground stems too [1]
2. Cut climbing and trailing vines back repeatedly through the growing season ? repeated cutting wears down the root reserves over time [1]
3. On small groundcover patches, cutting the plant back and then smothering it with thick cardboard topped by several inches of wood chips can help [1]
4. Do not plant chocolate vine, and remove it from gardens before it spreads into nearby woods [1]
5. For natural areas, volunteer crews should find and remove new patches early, before they form dense mats, and return over several seasons to cut and dig out established vines, prioritizing outliers near high-quality habitat [1]

When to call a professional:

1. Large, established mats and vines high in the canopy that resprout strongly after cutting [1]
2. Big infestations across a woodlot or wetland that need a coordinated, multi-year plan [1]
3. For chemical control options, contact a licensed applicator or your local cooperative extension office.

Report sightings to MISIN. Help track this species' spread by submitting observations through the MISIN web site or the MISIN mobile app (Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS). Photos at multiple angles paired with a precise GPS location are the most valuable data for confirming new occurrences and triggering rapid-response review.

Credits:

1. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. "Fiveleaf Akebia / Chocolate vine (Akebia quinata)." dnr.wisconsin.gov
2. NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Akebia quinata (Chocolate Vine, Five Leaf Akebia). plants.ces.ncsu.edu
3. Plants of the World Online (POWO), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Akebia quinata (Thunb. ex Houtt.) Decne. powo.science.kew.org
4. USDA NRCS Plants Database. Akebia quinata (Houtt.) Decne. plants.usda.gov

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