Vines are some of my favorite plants, and if the vines have beautiful fragrant flowers and edible fruits, then it’s even better.

Schisandra or Chinese magnolia vine is a twining climber plant with both.  The plant is native to the Russian far east and northern China. It is similar in appearance to a clematis and can easily grow 10 to 20 feet in a season.

The leaves have been described to be slightly heart shaped with a citrus lemon scent.  The fragrant white flowers appear in spring and by autumn produce bright clusters of red fruits.  The leaves also turn a beautiful yellow in the fall.

These bright red berries remind me coffee berries and grapes at the same time. I would love to try growing one of these vines. They could start to bear fruit in 3 years. Photo from Fair Life.

Backyard Gardener’s website listed the following requirements for successful planting.

USDA Hardiness Zone: 7 to 9
Light Range: Part Shade to Full Sun
pH Range: 5.5 to 6.5
Soil Range: Sandy Loam to Clay Loam
Water Range: Normal to Moist

Since I am in Zone 9, this plant would do well.  I mainly want to harvest them for the berries. As the dried berries are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

The Chinese call it “wu wei zi” meaning “five flavor fruit”. The five distinct flavors consist of sour, bitter, sweet, spicy and salty. Due to these qualities, it has been recognized and cultivated in traditional herbal medicine.

Gaia Herbs noted that in Traditional Chinese Medicine, it has been used to support a healthy functioning endocrine system, digestive system, and to support normal liver function as well as a convalescent tonic herb when the kidney system is involved. The dried berries are boiled to make a tea.

It has also been known to be a natural mood booster and also help with liver health and alertness or attention span. It is a great herb for dealing with insomnia and other sleep problems, such as night sweats.

The folks behind Fair Life herbs of Hong Kong had this story to share:

“American scientist Dr. Silvia Reinhold declares: “I have given 20 tinnitus patient Wu-Wei-Zi berries. 2 months later, 19 of them had no more problems with the terrible buzzing in one’s ear because their blood circulation was functioning again. The improvement of the blood circulation could be easily verified in the inner ear.”

That sounds interesting as I know some people who have complained about tinnitus. Drinking the dried berries as tea should help.

Seed packets available at Terrior Seeds. $3.25 for 15 seeds.

Raintree Nursery also has the plant, but you’ll need both sexes present to produce berries. $22.50.

More plant info at Natural Elixir and Kalyx.

Here is a better and more close up look at the ripe berries.  They remind me of tiny red grapes.  Photo from Wikipedia.