I saw the flowers of the Akebi for the first time. I have eaten the fruit a few times before. The fruit ripens from September to October, has a light purple or purple color, and has a eggplant-like shape of about 10 cm in length. When it ripens, the skin splits and reveals a white, jelly-like flesh. It has a smooth and refreshing sweetness and tastes delicious, but most of it is seeds. Akebi is a deciduous climbing woody plant that grows wild in the mountains and fields of Japan. The flowers are very cute, and they bloom separately as male and female flowers, with colors ranging from purple, light purple, to white. It has a long history of being used by humans, with not only the fruit, but also the new shoots being used as ingredients, and mature vines being used as materials for crafts such as weaving baskets. It is also an important Chinese medicine called “Mokutsu,” used as a diuretic and various other medications.

アケビの花を初めて見ました。実は何度か食べたことがあります。９月から10月頃に実ができ、色は薄紫色や紫色で、10cm程度の瓜の様な形をしています。熟すと果皮が割けて白色のゼリー状の果肉を覗かせます。とろりとした爽やかな甘みがあり美味しいのですが、ほとんどが種です。アケビは日本の山野に自生する落葉ツル性木本です。花がとても可愛らしく、雄花と雌花で分かれて咲き、花の色は紫色や薄紫色、白色などがあります。人との関わりは古く、実はもちろん、新芽を食材にしたり、成熟した蔓は、籠を編むなどして工芸品の素材として利用されてきました。また漢方でも木通(もくつう)として重要な生薬で、利尿剤や様々な薬剤として利用されています。