Sinofranchetia chinensis

Photo: VoDeTan2 Dericks-Tan — CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Survives zone 6 through 9

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

Grape-sized blue-purple fruit, edible but insipid — similar in appearance to a small grape but less sweet, with a slightly leathery skin. Grown mainly for its ornamental blue-purple fruit clusters and large, three-leaflet foliage rather than for eating.

Hardiness

Zone 6–9

Habit

Vine

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Autumn (pods split)

Mature size

Vigorous twining vine 8–15 m; containerable only with hard annual pruning

Light

Partial shade — forest vine

Soil pH

6.0–7.0

Environment

Montane

Native range

Central and western China — Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi and neighbouring provinces — in montane forest at 900–2,500 m, where it climbs through trees. The only species in its genus.

Status

Wild

Years to fruit

3–4 yrs

Growth speed

Fast — a vigorous twiner making several metres a year once settled

Spacing

300 cm (118 in) apart — about 9 m² (97 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Alternate and trifoliate, the three leaflets broadly ovate and 6–15 cm, the terminal one the largest and long-stalked — an Akebia-like leaf on a much coarser vine, purple-tinted when young.

Root system

Deep and vigorous, spreading widely, and it suckers — a forest vine's root system, wanting cool shade at the base while the top climbs into the light.

Fruit description

Hanging clusters of pale blue-purple berries about 1.5 cm, like small grapes with a slightly leathery skin, ripening in autumn. ⚠ Edible but insipid — watery and faintly sweet, with little to recommend it beyond curiosity. The vine is grown for its foliage and its fruit clusters as ornament.

Propagation

Seed after cold stratification, or semi-hardwood cuttings in summer. Two genetically distinct vines are needed, since the plant is self-incompatible — the usual reason a specimen flowers for years and never fruits.

Pollination

SELF-INCOMPATIBLE — plant 2 genetically distinct vines (a common failure)

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.