Vasilis Teodoridis:
Lardizabalaceae | Akebia
3. Akebia trifoliata (Thunberg) Koidzumi; Bot. Mag. (Tokyo). 39: 310. 1925.
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Woody climbers; deciduous or subevergreen. Stems grayish brown; verruculose; laxly lenticellate. Petiole 7--11 cm; lateral petiolules 6--12 mm; terminal petiolule 2--4 cm; leaflets 3 (--5); ovate; ovate-oblong; or broadly ovate; 3--8 x 1.5--6 cm; papery; subleathery; or leathery; abaxially pale green; adaxially dark green; base truncate; rounded; cordate; or cuneate; margin sinuate; shallowly lobed; subentire; or entire; apex obtuse to narrowly rounded and slightly emarginate; cuspidate. Racemes axillary on short branches; 6--16 cm; peduncle slender; 3--5 cm. Male flowers: 15--30. Pedicel filiform; 2--5 mm. Sepals 3 or 4; pale purple to purple; broadly elliptic; elliptic; or oblong. Stamens 6; filaments very short; anthers incurved at anthesis. Pistillodes 3; oblong-subulate. Female flowers: pedicel 1.5--3 cm; slightly thicker than in male flower. Sepals 3; purplish brown; dark purple; or purplish black; suborbicular; sublinear; or narrowly oblong. Carpels 4--9; straight; 4--6 mm. Fruit oblong; straight or slightly curved. Seeds ovoid; 5--7 x 4--5 mm. Fl. Apr--May; fr. Jun--Sep.
Semideciduous forest margins; open forest along valleys; scrub on hillsides; by streams; 200--2100 m. Anhui; Fujian; SE Gansu; Guangdong; Guizhou; Henan; Hubei; Hunan; Jiangsu; Jiangxi; S Shaanxi; Shandong; S Shanxi; Sichuan; Taiwan; Yunnan; Zhejiang [Japan].
3b. Akebia trifoliata subsp. australis (Diels) T. Shimizu; Quart. J. Taiwan Mus. 14: 201. 1961.
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Akebia lobata Decaisne var. australis Diels; Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 29: 344. 1901; A. chaffanjonii H. Léveillé; A. trifoliata var. australis (Diels) Rehder; A. trifoliata subsp. australis var. honanensis T. Shimizu; A. trifoliata var. integrifolia T. Shimizu.
Leaflets 3; ovate-oblong to ovate; 4--7 x 1.5--3(--5) cm; leathery; base rounded; broadly cuneate; truncate; or cordate; margin usually entire; very rarely irregularly sinuate; apex narrowly rounded; slightly emarginate; and cuspidate. Racemes axillary on short branches. Male flowers: sepals 3; purple; broadly elliptic to elliptic; 2--3 mm. Stamens red to purplish red when fresh; brown to pale brown when dry; ca. 2.5 mm. Female flowers: sepals dark purple; 9--12 x 7--10 mm. Carpels 5--7; purple. Fruit yellowish brown at maturity; 6--8 x 3--5 cm. Seeds blackish brown; ovoid. Fl. Apr--May; fr. Jun--Sep.
* Open forest along valleys; among shrubs on mountain slopes; 300--2100 m. Anhui; Fujian; Guangdong; Guizhou; Henan; Hubei; Hunan; Jiangsu; Jiangxi; S Shaanxi; S Shanxi; Sichuan; Taiwan; Yunnan; Zhejiang.