Damigeron's Dungeon: Presitigious Plants - Chocolate Vine and Dead Men's Fingers

Plant Indices

Alphabetical Index (Genera)
Alphabetical Index (Vernacular)
Cladistic Index

Family: Lardizabalaceae

Lardizabalaceae is a family of woody plants, mostly lianas (woody vines) native to Asia. It consists of seven genera, only two of which concern our research: Akebia (Chocolate Vine) and Decaisnea (Dead Man's Fingers).

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Family: Lardizabalaceae

Akebia quinata, Jardin botanique de Lyon, April 2005.
Photo by Jeffdelonge.

Names:

Akebia
Akebi [Japanese]
Chocolate Vine
Fiveleaf

Distribution: Asia

Physical Description
Akebia is a genus of woody vines that produce large fruit pods similar to the cacao plant. It is tolerant of both shade and full sunlight, and it can adapt to nearly any environmental conditions. It is a resilient, if minor, invasive plant outside its native range.

Akebia cannot self-pollinate, meaning it will not fruit unless it is pollinated by another akebia.

Symbolism

Pastoralism
In Japanese art and literature, the Akebia is evocative of pastoral settings. Even today older Japanese may reminisce about foraging for this fruit in their youth.

Culture

Weaving
Akebia’s vine material is employed in crafts such as basket weaving.

Food
The fruit of this plant is edible, treated as a novelty outside of its more pastoral native habitat. The white flesh of the fruit is sweet, its flavor varying greatly nut just between but within species. The flavor profile can range from a mixture of banana, passionfruit, and lychee, to mild or even “flavorless” (having the flavor intensity of dragonfruit).

While once minor forage, the fruit is now considered a specialty seasonal crop.

The purple, slightly bitter rind has been used as a culinary vegetable in Yamagata prefecture and in nearby northern areas. The favored use of this rind in these regions is to stuff them with minced chicken or pork that has been flavored with miso.

Akebia leaves may also be infused into tea.

Ripe Akebia quinata from Washington State, Jan 3rd, 2023.
Own work--JohnJGasper2.

Compiler Notes

Retained primarily for name and distribution.
Variability in the flavor profile could be influenced by soil, which would make the plant sensitive to various influences. For fantasy storytelling, these flavor profiles could be indicative of a number of nefarious things, such as a sweetness derived from drowned children, or the fruit turning bitter from a hostile family situation on the property. Perhaps a vine produces particularly delicious fruit because it grows from the grave of a woman who was not appreciated by her family.
The use of the rind to house meat dishes is reminiscent of a womb. From the above magical considerations regarding influence, this transforms the fruit into a sort of womb or egg, facilitating a rebirth. This could be a vehicle for the transition of a human to a plant-themed yokai, or to grant a distinct corporeality t a diffuse spirit of the soil.

Image Refs

[Img 01 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Akebia_quinata02.jpg ]

[Img 02 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aquinataflesh.jpg ]

Akebia quinata one female flower and five male flowers.
Mount Ibuki, 21st of May, 2011.
Own work, Alpsdrake.

Names:

Five-Leaf Akebia
Akebi [Japanese]
Akébie [French]
Aksebidrue [Norwegian]
Chocolate Vine
Chocolate-Scented Akebia
Chōsen-Gomishi [Japanese]
Cincofolhas [Portuguese]
Fingerblättrige Akebie [German]
Fiveleaf Akebia
Five-Leaf Chocolate Vine
Five-Leafed Akebia
Fingerblättrige Akebie [German]
Klematis-Akebia [Danish]
Klettergurke [German]
Liane Chocolat [French]
Mu Tong [Chinese]
Peonía Japonesa [Spanish]
Pięciolistkowa Akebia [Polish]
Raisin De Chocolat [French]
Schijnaugurk [Dutch]
Sjokoladevine [Norwegian]
Tōtsuru [Japanese]
Vijfbladige Akebia [Dutch]
Vjfdolistnaya Akebiya [Russian]
Wu Mu Tong [Chinese]
Ya Mu Tong [Chinese]

Distribution:

Asia, East: China (North-Central China, South-Central China, Southeast China), Japan, Korea

Biome: Hills, hedges, on trees, along forest edges and streams, and on mountain slopes.

Physical Description
Fiveleaf akebia is an evergreen shrub or woody vine that grows up to 10m (30ft) tall, with palmately compound leaves with five elliptic/obovate leaflets that notch at the tip.

Its flowers grow in racemes, with each flower has three or four sepals. These flowers are noted for their distinctly chocolatey aroma (though this has sometimes been described as more like vanilla or nutmeg). It blooms from April-May.

Akebia prefers sandy soils with good drainage and regular watering, though it is drought resistant. It is hardy down -15 or even -20 °C.

Culture

Landscaping
This akebia is grown as an ornamental, but also as ground cover to prevent the erosion of hills.

Medical
We are not a medical website, do not take health advice from us.

Akebia has a history of medicinal use, especially in traditional Chinese medicine. It was attributed with treating:

UTIs
Weak lactation
Rheumatoid arthritis

The diuretic action is credited to the plant’s relatively high concentration of potassium salts. More recent testing has suggested that it:

Regulates kidney, liver, and cardiovascular activity
Reduces fat accumulation
Lowers blood cholesterol levels

The latter two are based on rodent reactions, and we do not have accessto information from human testing.

Food
Eaten as other akebia. Preferable if eaten fresh, after the fruit has naturally opened on the vine. The bitter seeds can cause throat irritation if chewed. It is recommended that these seeds be spit out or swallowed hole.

This fruit is processed into jams, jellies, smoothies, and even ice-cream.

Akebia quinata fruit.
Own work--JohnJGasper2.

Compiler Notes

Retained for name, distribution, and medicinal properties.

Image Refs

[Img 03 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Akebia_quinata_in_Mount_Ibuki_2011-05-21.JPG ]

[Img 04 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Akebia_Quinata_pink_husk.jpg ]

Akebia longeracemosa, May 11th, 2014.
By peganum on Flickr.

Names:

Long-Clustered Akebia
Chang Chui Ba Yue Cha [Chinese]
Chocolate Vine
Long-Racemed Akebia
Longyuen Akebia [Chinese]
Nagabana Akebi [Japanese]

Distribution:

Asia, East: China (Southeast China), Taiwan

Physical Description
Akebia longeracemosa is a semi-evergreen liana that grows up to 8m (26ft) tall. Its leaves are bright green, taking the orm of five oblong leaflets that occasionally tinge purple in winter.

It has fragrant, cup-shaped, purple-red flowers that hang from racemes 15cm (6in) long. It blooms in spring. (If cross-pollinated between species, the flowers give way to purplish, sausage-shaped fruit pods.)

Food
Akebia longeracemosa is eaten as a fruit, but our sources provide no particular information on its flavor profile.

Akebia longeracemosa from Small Dole, England, May 20th, 2015.
By peganum on Flickr.

Compiler Notes

Retained for name and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 05 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/peganum/14168601575/ ]

[Img 06 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/peganum/17289423664/ ]

Akebia trifoliata, 8th of January, 2023.
Own work--JohnJGasper2.

Names:

Three-Leaf Akebia
Akebia De Tres Hojas [Spanish]
Akebia Trifoliée [French]
Chocolate Vine
Dreiblättrige Akebia [German]
Dreigliedrige Akebie [German]
Kongfomao [Chinese]
Mitsuba Akebi [Japanese]
Mu Tong [Chinese]
San Ye Ba Yue Zha [Chinese]
San Ye Mu Tong [Chinese]
White-flowered Akebia
Ya Mu Tong [Chinese]

Distribution:

Asia, East: China (North-Central China, South-Central China, Southeast China), Japan, Taiwan

Physical Description
Threeleaf akebia is aan evergreen liana that grows up to 9.1m (30ft) long. Its leaves possess three ovate, slightly lobed leaflets, which tend to be bronze-tinted when young. While it loses these leaves in the cold, apparently its twining branches are considered attractive even when bare.

Its flowers grow on short racemes. The flowers themselves are deep purple and produce light purple fruits.

It is hardy from −1.1 °C (30 °F) to −28.9 °C(−20 °F)

Medical
We are not a medical website, do not take health advice from us.

This plant has a history in traditional Chinese medicine, said to help with UTI’s and improve blood flow.

It is identified as an:

Analgesic
Antibacterial
Anti-inflammatory
Diuretic
Fat-reducer
Hepato-regenerative
Neuroprotective

The plant waste generated by the commercial growing of this plant has been used to create an “antibacterial pectin.”

Food
This akebia has been credited with a flavor reminiscent of coconut or tapioca, or a mild melon flavor when eaten ripe.

Compiler Notes

Retained for name, distribution, and medicinal properties.

Image Refs

[Img 07 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Akebia_Foliage1.jpg ]

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Family: Lardizabalaceae
Species: Decaisnea fargesii

Decaisnea fargesii with mature fruit.
Howick Gardens, Northumberland, UK. 23rd of Oct, 2009.
Own work--MPF.

Names:

Dead Man's Fingers
Blue Bean Plant
Blue Bean Shrub
Blue Finger Plant
Blue Sausage Fruit
Blue Sausage Shrub
Bluebean Vine
Dead Man's Toes
Dekenea [Polish]
Delavay [French]
Farge's Decaisnea
Farge's Dead Man's Fingers
Fémur Du Mort [French]
Fingerfrucht [German]
Gousse De Java [French]
Himalayan Blue Bean
Liane Aux Saucisses [French]
Mao Er Shi Shu [Chinese]
Mao Er Tao [Chinese]
Mao Gua [Chinese]
Ming Jiao [Chinese]
Mu Zei Guo [Chinese]
Sausage Tree
Shi Gua [Chinese]
Shi Hu [Chinese]
Xiang Jiao Guo [Chinese]
Xue Feng [Chinese]
Xue Tong [Chinese]
Zhi Zhu Xue Tong [Chinese]

Distribution:

Asia, Central: Tibet
Asia, East: China (North-Central China, South-Central China, Southeast China)
Asia, South: Nepal

Physical Description
Decaisnea, or “dead man’s fingers,” is a genus of deciduous shrub or small tree with one or two species, distinguished primarily by the color of their fruit, D. Fargesii having blue fruit and D. Insignis having yellow-green. Here we recognize only D. fargesii for our own convenience.

Decaisnea grows from 4-8m (13-26ft) tall and 4m (13ft) broad, with a trunk up to 20cm (8in) in diameter. It has pinnate leaves 60-90cm (24-35in) long with up to 25 leaflets, each up to 15cm (6in) long and 10cm (4in) broad.

The flowers appear in drooping panicles 15-50cm (6-20in) long. Each flower is 3-6cm (1-2.5in) wide, having no petals but green-yellow sepals.

It produces soft green-yellow to blue-black/blue-grey fruit pods up to 10cm (4in) long and 3cm (1in) in diameter. The fruit resembles the fingers or toes of dead men, hence the many related names. It fruits in autumn.

These plants are hardy to −20 °C (−4 °F) or even lower, thriving in sheltered positions, favoring fertile, well-drained soil.

Devaisnea fargesii fruit, 3rd of Nov, 2011.
Own work--Malte.

Culture

Gardening
This plant’s gorgeous leaves and unusual fruit pods make it a popular ornamental, with many cultivated garden strains selected for bright blue fruit.

Food
The pulp of both the green-yellow fruit and the blue fruit are edible. The large, flat seeds produced by either strain are not.

There is a marked difference in flavor between the green-yellow and blue strains, with the transparent, glutinous, jelly-like pulp being described as sweet and similar to watermelon in the blue fruits, while the green-yellow are said to be bland.

This fruit is valued by the Lepha people of Sikkim as a food source.

Decaisnea fargesii fuit and seeds, 22nd of March, 2010.
Own work--VoDeTan2.

Compiler Notes

The real meat of this plant is the name “dead man’s fingers,” especially the blue ones, which suggest the cessation of circulation. The cause of death of this “dead man” can be presumed to be asphyxiation, either through formal hanging for a crime, or by less-than-legal means.
Laundering the identity of the hypothetical dead man to which these “fingers” belong allows them to operate with the facilities of such a person. For example, if such a man is interpreted as being a thief or a fraud, one could employ necromancy-by-fruit to use the deceased to forge signatures. Similarly, such a plant grown over a family plot on a large estate could be employed the magically usurp power of attorney or control of the family trust.
The "dead man's fingers" could also be used to coerce the spirits of the dead into compliance. By twisting the fruit, the necromancer sympathetically twists the fingers of the dead.

Image Refs

[Img 08 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Decaisnea_fargesii_fruit2.jpg ]

[Img 09 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:5210-Decaisnea_fargesii-20111103-hamburg.jpg ]

[Img 10 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Decaisnea_fargesii_Samen.jpg ]

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See Also: