Akebia

Akebia
Akebia quinata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Lardizabalaceae
Genus: Akebia
Decne.
Species

See text.

Akebia is a genus of five species of flowering plant, within the family Lardizabalaceae. The scientific name, akebia, is a Latinization of the Japanese name for species Akebia quinata: akebi (通草).

Species

There are five species including:[1]

Invasive plant

Akebia quinata is listed under the National Pest Plant Accord as an "unwanted organism" in New Zealand since it is considered to be an invasive plant.[2] It is also considered invasive in several states in the eastern United States, according to the Plant Conservation Alliance.

Akebia in Japan

Akebia is often mentioned in Japanese literature, where it is evocative of pastoral settings.[3] Although the akebi commonly refers to the five-leafed species, the three-leafed species is used in much the same way for novelty food, medicine, and for vine material.

It is something of minor food source that was foraged in the past when other more conventional food sources were scarce. The pods contain a white, semi-translucent gelatinous pulp that is mildly sweet and full of seeds.[4] The taste is described as sweet but rather "insipid".[4] Some people recollect in idyllic terms how they foraged for it in the hills as children.[5]

The purple-colored, slightly bitter rind has been used as vegetable in Yamagata Prefecture[5][6] or in those northern areas, where the typical recipe calls for stuffing the rind with minced chicken (or pork) flavored with miso.[6] Minor quantities of akebia are shipped to the urban market as novelty vegetable.

In Japan, the leaves are made into a tea infusion.[3] Also, Akebia vines are used for basket-weaving crafts. An old source lists Minakuchi, Shiga and Tsugaru (now Aomori Prefecture) as localities that produced baskets from the vines of trifoliate variety.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Akebia". Flora of China. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  2. ↑ "Akebia". Biosecurity New Zealand. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  3. 1 2 Davidson, Alan, and Tom Jaine. The Oxford companion to food. Oxford University Press, USA, 2006. 805. Print. Retrieved Aug. 09, 2010, from
  4. 1 2 Sargent, Charles Sprague (March 25, 1891), "Plant Notes-The Fruit of Akebia quinata (With Figure.)" (google), Garden and Forest, 4 (161): 136
  5. 1 2 Nimura, Kazuo(二村一夫)r (2006-07-22). "食の自分史" [Self-history on food]. 『食の自分史』. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  6. 1 2 Yamagata City Health Center (2011-01-31). "あけびの詰め物" [stuffed akebia]. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2017., photograph shows trifoliate variety (twig, fresh purple plant, and prepared dish)
  7. ↑ Agricultural Society of Japan; Dai Nihon Nōkai(author alia) (1895). Useful plants of Japan: described and illustrated (google). 1. Agricultural Society of Japan. p. 92.

Further reading

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