Shiro Bana White Flowering Akebia. This vigorous, twining vine has five-leaflet, palmately compound leaves and has the ability to climb up anything that it can wrap around. It can reach up to 40' and has pendant racemes of deliciously fragrant half inch flowers which are best observed from underneath. If one needs a quick cover for a fence or an arbor, then this is the plant. This cultivar has white flowers in contrast to the species which has pink. It is evergreen in the Deep South, but will grow as far north as zone 4, but there it will surely become deciduous. If there is adequate pollination with other clones, sausage-like edible fruit are produced in the fall. It is a native to China, Korea and Japan. The flavor has been described by one from the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden: "The pulp is tapioca-like both in texture and flavor, but to my palate there's also a hint of passion fruit."
Zones 5-10
