#Lardizabalaceae

• Akebia — A genus of woody climbing vines, native to East Asia (Japan, China, and Korea), belonging to the family Lardizabalaceae; by extension, the species Akebia quinata, popularly known as the 'chocolate vine' due to the exotic, sweetish fragrance resembling vanilla or chocolate emitted by its purple flowers. This robust ornamental plant features a flexible structure with palmate leaves and produces elongated, edible fruits with a gelatinous pulp, being heavily used in modern landscape design for decorating pergolas and fences.
• Akebia quinata — The type species of a vigorous, woody climbing vine native to the shaded forests of Japan, China, and Korea, belonging to the Lardizabalaceae family; it is internationally recognized by the popular name 'chocolate vine' due to the exotic, sweet, and intense cocoa-scented fragrance emitted by its springtime purple flowers. Structurally, the plant stands out for its palmate-compound foliage consisting of exactly five oval, bluish-green leaflets, and its ability to develop flexible stems that twine rapidly around supports, producing large, elongated pale-violet berries at the end of summer with a sweet, edible gelatinous pulp.
• Akebia trifoliata — A species of deciduous, woody climbing vine closely related to the chocolate vine, native to the mountainous and forested regions of East Asia; it is structurally distinguished by its compound foliage consisting of exactly three large leaflets with slightly wavy or lobed margins, and by the rougher, darker texture of its stems' bark. Its unisexual flowers exhibit a deep dark-purple, almost black hue, and the large berries produced in autumn have an exotic, split-pod appearance, housing black seeds embedded in a sweet gelatinous pulp valued in ornamental horticulture and as a local delicacy.