Akebia quinata comes from Japan, China, and Korea, where it twines through forest edges and woodland margins. In cultivation it grows to 40 feet with genuine speed, its palmately compound leaves — five leaflets to each, as the species name suggests — casting a graceful, Schefflera-like silhouette. In early spring, before the foliage fully opens, pendulous red-purple flowers appear in small clusters, fragrant with a faint chocolate note that gives the vine its common name. Large sausage-shaped purple fruits follow in autumn, splitting open to reveal edible white flesh around tiny black seeds. The vine tolerates deep shade, drought, wet sites, deer pressure, and erosion — a combination that explains both its usefulness and its invasive status in North Carolina and several other states.

The NC Invasive Plant Council lists Akebia quinata as invasive, and its vigor in the landscape makes that designation easy to understand. Without regular, heavy pruning it will overtake shrubs and other vegetation, and its tolerance for difficult conditions allows it to establish in natural areas where it crowds out native plants. Flowers appear on old wood, so any pruning should wait until after bloom. Where a less problematic alternative exists, it is worth choosing one.