Common Name:

General Information

Kadsura japonica is an evergreen, climbing shrub with twining stems growing up to 3.5 metres tall.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of mucilage. It is often grown as an ornamental in the tropics and subtropics, valued especially for its foliage (often variegated) and scarlet fruits[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

E. Asia - southern China, Taiwan, southern Korea, central and southern Japan.

Habitat

Climbs trees in woodlands[]. Forests and slopes at elevaions of 500 - 2000 metres in Fujian and Taiwan Provinces, China[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Evergreen Climber
Height	3.50 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Kadsura japonica is native to the warm temperate and subtropical climate in eastern Asia. It has moderate cold resistance and can tolerate winter temperatures falling as low as -10°c for short periods[].
Succeeds in any fertile garden soil[]. Requires a sheltered position in a moderately fertile well-drained neutral to acid soil[]. Prefers a position in semi-shade[].
The flowers emit a soft sweet perfume[].
Flowers are produced on the current year's growth[]. Plants do not really require pruning[].
Plants can be monoecious or dioecious. When dioecious, both, male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[, ].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[, ]. The red to purple aggregate fruit is composed of around 34 - 40 apocarps, each 5 - 8mm long and 5 - 8mm wide, containing 1 - 3 seeds[].

Medicinal

A decoction of the dried fruits is bechic, stomachic and tonic[, ]. It is used in the treatment of kidney diseases[].

The dried fruits are the source of 'Fructus Kadsurae'. The drug is used in traditional medicine as a tonic, stimulant, antitussive, beneficial to kidneys and lungs and is prescribed in cough and asthma. The drug is often used as a substitute for Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill[].

Other Uses

A viscid material is extracted from the fruit and used as a hair-dressing[].
A viscid derivative of the bark has been used as a pomade for hair-dressing[].

A mucilaginous extract from the leaves has been used in traditional Japanese washi paper manufacture[, ].
A mucilaginous fluid obtained from the plant (part no specified, but probably the fruit[]), is used in paper-making[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown when it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame[]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on for at least their first winter in a greenhouse. Plant out in early summer and give some protection for their first winter outdoors.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm with a heel, August in a frame. Overwinter in the greenhouse and plant out in late spring[, ]. Good percentage[].
Layering of long shoots in the autumn[].