Lardizabalaceae

[stuartdaly88]

I think a few species are edible in this family and three genuses in particular have interesting plants:

Boquila trifoliolata-chameleon vine
Monotypic genus
This plant is for me a holy grail, it has a unique ability to mimic the leaves of the plant it is growing on even to the extent of having completely different leaves on the same plant if it grows over two different trees.
"Boquila’s leaves are extraordinarily diverse. The biggest ones can be 10 times bigger than the smallest, and they can vary from very light to very dark. In around three-quarters of cases, they’re similar to the closest leaf from another tree, matching it in size, area, length of stalk, angle, and color. Boquila’s leaves can even grow a spiny tip when, and only when, it climbs onto a shrub with spine-tipped leaves."
Edible berries apparently appreciated in Chile to boot!



Akebia
Five species in this genus
Taste reports for some species has not been bad at all interesting looking fruit and pretty chocolate coloured flowers giving the name chocolate vine:)






And lastly this families namesake
Lardizabala biternata
Also a Monotypic genus
Also a vine and considered a delicacy in Chile and sold in some markets. Calledcoguil or cógüil in Mapuche language. 7-8cm long purple sausage shaped fruits sweet and pulpy. Beautiful flower!

[starling1]

I think a few species are edible in this family and three genuses in particular have interesting plants:

Boquila trifoliolata-chameleon vine
Monotypic genus
This plant is for me a holy grail, it has a unique ability to mimic the leaves of the plant it is growing on even to the extent of having completely different leaves on the same plant if it grows over two different trees.
"Boquila’s leaves are extraordinarily diverse. The biggest ones can be 10 times bigger than the smallest, and they can vary from very light to very dark. In around three-quarters of cases, they’re similar to the closest leaf from another tree, matching it in size, area, length of stalk, angle, and color. Boquila’s leaves can even grow a spiny tip when, and only when, it climbs onto a shrub with spine-tipped leaves."
Edible berries apparently appreciated in Chile to boot!



Akebia
Five species in this genus
Taste reports for some species has not been bad at all interesting looking fruit and pretty chocolate coloured flowers giving the name chocolate vine:)






And lastly this families namesake
Lardizabala biternata
Also a Monotypic genus
Also a vine and considered a delicacy in Chile and sold in some markets. Calledcoguil or cógüil in Mapuche language. 7-8cm long purple sausage shaped fruits sweet and pulpy. Beautiful flower!

Ok, so I haven't personally tried the fruit, but having talked to a couple of people who have, they assure me that it is pretty awful and not something worth growing. From memory both of them had assumed they'd taste like Asimina, but apparently they are nothing like this whatsoever.

[stuartdaly88]

I think a few species are edible in this family and three genuses in particular have interesting plants:

Boquila trifoliolata-chameleon vine
Monotypic genus
This plant is for me a holy grail, it has a unique ability to mimic the leaves of the plant it is growing on even to the extent of having completely different leaves on the same plant if it grows over two different trees.
"Boquila’s leaves are extraordinarily diverse. The biggest ones can be 10 times bigger than the smallest, and they can vary from very light to very dark. In around three-quarters of cases, they’re similar to the closest leaf from another tree, matching it in size, area, length of stalk, angle, and color. Boquila’s leaves can even grow a spiny tip when, and only when, it climbs onto a shrub with spine-tipped leaves."
Edible berries apparently appreciated in Chile to boot!



Akebia
Five species in this genus
Taste reports for some species has not been bad at all interesting looking fruit and pretty chocolate coloured flowers giving the name chocolate vine:)






And lastly this families namesake
Lardizabala biternata
Also a Monotypic genus
Also a vine and considered a delicacy in Chile and sold in some markets. Calledcoguil or cógüil in Mapuche language. 7-8cm long purple sausage shaped fruits sweet and pulpy. Beautiful flower!

Ok, so I haven't personally tried the fruit, but having talked to a couple of people who have, they assure me that it is pretty awful and not something worth growing. From memory both of them had assumed they'd taste like Asimina, but apparently they are nothing like this whatsoever.

Are you talking about the last one Lardizabala Starling?
I had thought the open fruit looks abit like American pawpaws

[starling1]

I think a few species are edible in this family and three genuses in particular have interesting plants:

Boquila trifoliolata-chameleon vine
Monotypic genus
This plant is for me a holy grail, it has a unique ability to mimic the leaves of the plant it is growing on even to the extent of having completely different leaves on the same plant if it grows over two different trees.
"Boquila’s leaves are extraordinarily diverse. The biggest ones can be 10 times bigger than the smallest, and they can vary from very light to very dark. In around three-quarters of cases, they’re similar to the closest leaf from another tree, matching it in size, area, length of stalk, angle, and color. Boquila’s leaves can even grow a spiny tip when, and only when, it climbs onto a shrub with spine-tipped leaves."
Edible berries apparently appreciated in Chile to boot!



Akebia
Five species in this genus
Taste reports for some species has not been bad at all interesting looking fruit and pretty chocolate coloured flowers giving the name chocolate vine:)






And lastly this families namesake
Lardizabala biternata
Also a Monotypic genus
Also a vine and considered a delicacy in Chile and sold in some markets. Calledcoguil or cógüil in Mapuche language. 7-8cm long purple sausage shaped fruits sweet and pulpy. Beautiful flower!

Ok, so I haven't personally tried the fruit, but having talked to a couple of people who have, they assure me that it is pretty awful and not something worth growing. From memory both of them had assumed they'd taste like Asimina, but apparently they are nothing like this whatsoever.

Are you talking about the last one Lardizabala Starling?
I had thought the open fruit looks abit like American pawpaws

Yes, the lardizabala. A friend of mine spent a long time waiting for it to fruit and was ultimately very disappointed.

[Luisport]

I have the two of them... the l.biternata is too small and the akebia not flowering yet... 

[stuartdaly88]

I think a few species are edible in this family and three genuses in particular have interesting plants:

Boquila trifoliolata-chameleon vine
Monotypic genus
This plant is for me a holy grail, it has a unique ability to mimic the leaves of the plant it is growing on even to the extent of having completely different leaves on the same plant if it grows over two different trees.
"Boquila’s leaves are extraordinarily diverse. The biggest ones can be 10 times bigger than the smallest, and they can vary from very light to very dark. In around three-quarters of cases, they’re similar to the closest leaf from another tree, matching it in size, area, length of stalk, angle, and color. Boquila’s leaves can even grow a spiny tip when, and only when, it climbs onto a shrub with spine-tipped leaves."
Edible berries apparently appreciated in Chile to boot!



Akebia
Five species in this genus
Taste reports for some species has not been bad at all interesting looking fruit and pretty chocolate coloured flowers giving the name chocolate vine:)






And lastly this families namesake
Lardizabala biternata
Also a Monotypic genus
Also a vine and considered a delicacy in Chile and sold in some markets. Calledcoguil or cógüil in Mapuche language. 7-8cm long purple sausage shaped fruits sweet and pulpy. Beautiful flower!

Ok, so I haven't personally tried the fruit, but having talked to a couple of people who have, they assure me that it is pretty awful and not something worth growing. From memory both of them had assumed they'd taste like Asimina, but apparently they are nothing like this whatsoever.

Are you talking about the last one Lardizabala Starling?
I had thought the open fruit looks abit like American pawpaws

Yes, the lardizabala. A friend of mine spent a long time waiting for it to fruit and was ultimately very disappointed.

That sucks:(
There must be something to the fruit for it to be sold in certain Chile markets, maybe its an acquired taste or something not suited to the western palate?
Any Chilean members have insights about the variation in this fruit? The thing I do notice about the pictures Iv seen is that it is incredibly seedy which can compromise even a decent taste. Maybe there is something in the preparation, maybe it needs to attain a certain ripeness, probably I am just grasping at straws

Luisport I hope you keep us updated on their progress! Could you post some pictures of your plants pretty please?

Im glad you didnt tell me the Boquila tastes like crap Starling!
That would have broken my heart he he
Im at the point of such love bordering for the boquila that I think if I ever do taste it my mind will make me taste it as ambrosia from heaven! Truthfully I would want to grow such an incredible plant even if it was completly toxic. It having a pretty white edible berry just pushed my interest to obssesive levels

[KarenRei]

Any updates / new information about this family?

The only thing I've found to add concerning Zabala (since almost all pages repeat that "sweet and pulpy, sold in Chile" line in various forms) is this: http://crescentbloom.com/plants/specimen/LA/Lardizabala%20biternata.htm - unlike everyone else repeating that line, they say it's bland. Perhaps it's variable?  Who knows.  If buying it, finding a good source of seeds would probably be very important.

Found almost nothing about Boquila fruit quality.  Fascinating plant, though!

Akebia seems to have some breeding programmes going for it in China and Japan and is considered to have significant potential (A. trifoliata seems to be the most researched for food potential, while A. quinata is most common in the horticultural trade). Random wild / horticultural Akebias apparently vary significantly in fruit quality, from delicious to cloying (some people hate the texture, too, while others don't).  Due to the seeds it's sort of eaten like a pomegranate, but is apparently easier to eat than a pomegranate.  Apparently poorer specimens are improved with lemon juice or other fruit that add acid.  Plants are monoecious but fruit set requires cross pollination not merely between plants, but between cultivars; hand pollination also helps.  Seems to require full sun to get a good crop.  The nutritional profile is quite good, and it has some interesting chemical properties that make it of interest in skin care products.   To get a good taste, it's important to pick ripe - after it opens if you plan to eat it right away, otherwise a week or so before it opens. The fruit stores very well, up to three months if refrigerated.  The flowers are of course well known for their scent - some say chocolate, others say vanilla and sometimes a hint of allspice. Akebias are very aggressive and can grow up to 15m long.

There's a lot of other edible Lardizabalaceae that I'm looking into.  Some species in the family may even have potential to be raised outside here if sheltered well enough.  An interesting, obscure family!

[stuartdaly88]

Thanks for the info and resurrecting this thread Karen!

I forgot a bit about my quest ha ha.

Any one know of good seed sources?

[KarenRei]

Thanks for the info and resurrecting this thread Karen!

I forgot a bit about my quest ha ha.

Any one know of good seed sources?

For which ones?  The only one of the three that appears to have undergone attempts at domestication is akebia. You can get some ideas of entities to contact from the "Domestication and Research Efforts" section here:

http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/45/1/4.full

(There's also great info about how to germinate and cultivate them in there)

Otherwise, you can just buy seeds off the horticultural markets and hope you get a good one.    If you want to up your odds on boquila and zabala, you could try contacting, say, a botany department at a university in Chile and asking them for advice on how to get a good variant. 

BTW: boquila apparently grows in marshy soil. So don't go easy on the water 

If you do get in touch with anyone about getting improved cultivars, definitely report back! 

[polux]

Another interesting member with edible and curious fruits may be Decaisnea fargesii (blue sausage fruit). It is hardy down to -15 °C and fruit have sweet jelly pulp. It is not well known here as the Akebia is, but looks very interesting....

[KarenRei]

Another interesting member with edible and curious fruits may be Decaisnea fargesii (blue sausage fruit). It is hardy down to -15 °C and fruit have sweet jelly pulp. It is not well known here as the Akebia is, but looks very interesting....

Yeah, I did my research on that  one just last night.    While Useful Tropical Plants quotes two contradictory descriptions of the flavour, one stating that it's insipid, all of the individual taste reviews I found say (after the person gets over the appearance!) that it's pretty good, with a "sweet watermelon" flavour.

Just as a note, it dies back to the ground each year in USDA zone <= 6, but then regrows from its roots.

BTW, if you get out a chance, check out Akebia's nutritional profile (I assume that Decaisnea's is similar). Very healthy, but unusual!  For example, the main acid is not citric, malic,  succinic, tartaric, oxalic, quinic, etc like in most fruits, but rather lactic!  There's a couple other things unusual in its profile, but I can't recall them off the top of my head.  It's a bit fattier than most fruits, at 1,5% (although not as much as durian, and certainly nothing like an avocado), and it has an unusually high ash (aka, mineral) content (over 6%).  Vitamin C per gram ranges from 1,5x to 14x that of oranges.  Apart from all the sugar, it's health food! 

[polux]

I will definitely try Decaisnea this year, it seems to be very interesting for my growing zone. Problem is only with good seed source. I try several times to germinate them (stratified, without stratification) no one of big amount germinate Seed were probably very old or not properly stored.
Interesting info about Akebia Karen Seems that many of Lardizabaceae is not only unusuall but also healthy...

[KarenRei]

I will definitely try Decaisnea this year, it seems to be very interesting for my growing zone. Problem is only with good seed source. I try several times to germinate them (stratified, without stratification) no one of big amount germinate Seed were probably very old or not properly stored.
Interesting info about Akebia Karen Seems that many of Lardizabaceae is not only unusuall but also healthy...

Stratification is recommended.  Germination takes 1-3 months at 18°C. Likes moist, rich, loamy soil.  Like most Lardizabalaceae, will grow in shade but will only produce significant fruit in the sun. Unlike most Lardizabalaceae, they're self-fertile 

[ErlendEllingboe]

I got some akebia fruit a couple years ago. Flavor was fine, fruits were sweet, seeds were incredibly bitter. It was a little awkward to extract the fruit without getting seeds, even swishing it around in your mouth. I'd heard people eat the skins kind of like eggplant, but maybe I prepared them wrong, because they were far too bitter for me. Like way more bitter than the most bitter bitter melon I've ever had. Check out Far Reaches Farm for its Chilean relatives.

[Stomata]

Cool thread. Happened to notice this earlier today and twas a relevant coincidence. here is a source for a decaisnea:

https://store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org/products/mao-er-shi-shu?_pos=1&_sid=695ba164d&_ss=r

[Plantinyum]

From those species i only have 2 akebia quinata plants. Havent had fruits of them still, the bigger one flowered this year but didnt set anything, i tried to hand pollinate the female flowers ,but the male ones didnt had any pollen that i could see whatsoever. I just messed with them yesterday, tying them to their trellis , repositionning vines etc, the big one is just loaded with flower buds, i hope the smaller one also flowers this year so i can try to cross them.
Flowers look very cool, no scent that i could pick up though.

[Peter_out]

I have read this old thread with interest & thought l'd see if anyone would like many of the points raised & observed clarified? If so reply to this & l'll contine this with very interesting information!

[Ellocot]

Farreachesfarm occasionally sells Boquila trifoliolata.

It's a vine, and I've noticed that it hates any change in its lighting or other conditions.

I've grown it indoors, and it mainly just stayed alive because it was shipped in from wherever. Eventually started growing a bit, before my cats smacked the plant. It also has some mold of sorts on it.


I've moved to Mississippi, one plant came out of the pot - seems like it was placed into a larger pot prior to shipping.

Roots weren't really in the soil or bound at all.

So, it was hooked through packing material and came out of the pot.


That plant has since died.


The other has its newest growth tips slowly turning black, it is putting off newer growth towards its base, which is a good sign.



I planted them both outside by a tree, where they'll be insulated. They're supposedly hard to zone 8. I'm now in 8b.

I'll post updates some images later.

[Ellocot]

I've researched the berries a bit.

These climb up trees.

Most vines with fruits that people are used to, like grapes - those can be farmed or trained.

Boquila trifoliolata gets very tall, likes damp soil and if there's no viable host, they get some heavy leaf predation.

The berries are blueberry sized from what I've read. Their skin, seeds and the whole thing is eaten.

I believe it may be difficult or something of a pain to gather, and it has a low shelf life. Most likely spread by birds.


Zabala, is sometimes sold by Wanderlustnursery.


Hobelia is another interesting genus. As is Stauntonia.


I have some Holboellia latifolia seed.

Hopefully I'll get some Akebia seed as well.


Decaisnea and other species are also obviously interesting.

Decaisnea, I'd grow out in the open with some Oso berries or other blue fruited shrubs.

Farreachesfarm was selling a large fruited type that they collected from the wild, but it's not on their site anymore.



Boquila trifoliolata can mimic plastic plants, can mimic plants while in a pot and not touching other hosts.


It's thought to use a form of ecolocation or a plant version of it. Some scientists think that this means the plant can think or make decisions.


I personally want to obtain interspecific hybrids using Boquila. A plant that can mimic a citrus or something, and have larger fruits which are nutritious and have actual edible skin / fruits.

This would work well as something that could grow on farmed trees, ones that may make a crop at different times than these.


That's a far future idea / project. I have no idea if it would work, but there's potential there.

[Peter_out]

Well the plot thickens as it has recently been discovered that Lardizabala mimics nearby plants just like Boquila. It not only mimics leaves but just yesterday l observed it mimicking the growth form of a support tree as well. It's a rather long story but to give an overview: l have mature vines of Lardizabala growing to the top of a large Quercus suber (cork oak) at my back door.  These vines are almost 40years old & have been fruiting for about 20 years. They  are nearly 50' up to the top of the tree. I have always considered Lardizabala to be a species with quite variable leaves an observation which l put down to genetic variability,  that is until a recent trip to Tasmania where l saw a very different looking Lardizabala with very large roundish leaves with totally entire margins. As this looked so different from mine at home l obtained 2 seedling plants from the source & returned home with them. When l compared the photos of the one in Tasmania to mine l suddenly realized that the leaves were mimicking nearby plants & in fact do this just like Boquila does.

 I contacted Ernesto Gianoli in Chile who discovered the phenomenon in Boquila & sent him many photos & he concurs that Lardizabala is indeed performing the same stunt as Boquila! Further he told me that it is an accepted fact among the local traditional population in the areas where Lardizabala grows that the best flavored & quality fruit is dependent on the tree species it grows on! This may seem hard to swallow but this same species is making both cork oak leaves & Lapageria rosea leaves on the one vine at my place. It even mimics the curl of the oak &  the texture of the Lapageria.

 I like the flavor of 'oak grown' Lapageria, it's  got a nice, if subtle sweetness if you're prepared to swirl & spit to separate the pulp from the seeds! It certainly has more flavor than any Akebia l've eaten & also Stauntonia hexaphylla which is pretty bland too.

I haven't tasted Boquila as l have recently struck cuttings of one clone only, & sown seed which l hope is viable as it's taken many years to obtain here.

[Ellocot]

Zabala and Boquila seeds seem to need to be fresh, or they die.

That's simply what I've heard. And that they may quickly lose viability, even stored.

There's also not a ton of people growing them for fruit yet.


Which means, getting seed or anything is going to be difficult.

Stauntonia and Hobelia seem to be in the same category, but their seed stores longer.

A lot of these are self incompatible, which may help with obtaining hybrids.

Most of these species can cross freely within their genus.

Boquila and other species presumably had other relatives at some point, and are the only living members of their genus still alive.

Sinofranchetia chinensis is the only member in its genus. Native to China. The same goes with Sargentodoxa cuneata.

Looking at Stauntonia, it's easy to assume that other genera formerly had larger ranges.

Akebia chingshuiensis seems endemic to Taiwan. Some sources say China. But, Chinese sources claim its native to China because they consider Taiwan to be a part of China, thus endemic to China becomes more widespread.


Some species are endemic to Japan.


Japan has genera of monotypic species of other families, or ones closely related to species in the America's.


I've read of Akebia fossils found in North America or at least probable Lardizabalaceae species.


I'm unsure if I've posted too much information, but the whole family has some widely differing traits that make them stand out from each other.

Decaisnea could've evolved from a vine, but it ended up on a mountain with nothing to climb up on.

Boquila and other species strike me as underutilized species.

[Peter_out]

Lardizabala seed stays very viable for several years, dry in the fridge. It self sows here under the vines in almost a weedy fashion & until l discovered the leaf mimicking phenomenon  l used to pull them up & discard many. Now l'll plant them all on different 'hosts' to see what they can do. In my limited experience with Boquila seeds it seems it is not as tolerant of long storage. I'm convinced Akebia seed needs to be very fresh to germinate though dried stored seed of Holboellia, Stauntonia, Decaisnea & Sinofranchetia have all germinated for me

[Ellocot]

This would be Boquila trifoliolata.

I've tried getting seed from Chile Flora before, they offer seed for a small period of time. They claim that after being stored, the sees viability goes down drastically and they'd had complaints about seeds germination in the past.

Thanks for the mention that Lardizabala seeds seem to do well stored for a period of time.

Most Akebia seeds need a period of cold / warm stratification after drying out.


I'm surprised to see someone who has grown all of these various species. Most are hard to find, at least from what I've found.

A good portion of Hobelia and Stauntonia along with Sinofranchetia species, are from warmer areas - Hobelia latifolia for example, is said to be hardy from roughly USDA Zone 8+.


I've made a few theories that since Lardizabala and Boquila share ranges, that they could be crossed with one another on occasion in nature.

I've heard scant reports of some Lardizabala species mimicking anything, some people say those are Boquila misidentifications.

I've also assumed that these species having large ranges, could indicate that they also have various species which are simply conflated into one.

[Ellocot]

The newer leaves are the lighter ones.

I've planted these near Smilax vines.

The dying bits are mostly old growth.

I'm hoping that it's simply shedding or killing off certain leaves and bits that dislike the sun and climate here.

I'm fairly sure that if / when this gets used to the conditions here, that it should take off.

The tree next to it, is an Oak.

The area here is basically a swampland. I'm also going to be watching the plant, as I'm pretty sure that that birds will eat the berries.

[Draak]

Well the plot thickens as it has recently been discovered that Lardizabala mimics nearby plants just like Boquila. It not only mimics leaves but just yesterday l observed it mimicking the growth form of a support tree as well. It's a rather long story but to give an overview: l have mature vines of Lardizabala growing to the top of a large Quercus suber (cork oak) at my back door.  These vines are almost 40years old & have been fruiting for about 20 years. They  are nearly 50' up to the top of the tree. I have always considered Lardizabala to be a species with quite variable leaves an observation which l put down to genetic variability,  that is until a recent trip to Tasmania where l saw a very different looking Lardizabala with very large roundish leaves with totally entire margins. As this looked so different from mine at home l obtained 2 seedling plants from the source & returned home with them. When l compared the photos of the one in Tasmania to mine l suddenly realized that the leaves were mimicking nearby plants & in fact do this just like Boquila does.

 I contacted Ernesto Gianoli in Chile who discovered the phenomenon in Boquila & sent him many photos & he concurs that Lardizabala is indeed performing the same stunt as Boquila! Further he told me that it is an accepted fact among the local traditional population in the areas where Lardizabala grows that the best flavored & quality fruit is dependent on the tree species it grows on! This may seem hard to swallow but this same species is making both cork oak leaves & Lapageria rosea leaves on the one vine at my place. It even mimics the curl of the oak &  the texture of the Lapageria.

 I like the flavor of 'oak grown' Lapageria, it's  got a nice, if subtle sweetness if you're prepared to swirl & spit to separate the pulp from the seeds! It certainly has more flavor than any Akebia l've eaten & also Stauntonia hexaphylla which is pretty bland too.

I haven't tasted Boquila as l have recently struck cuttings of one clone only, & sown seed which l hope is viable as it's taken many years to obtain here.

I wonder if the sweetness is correlated to leaf size. Perhaps bigger leaves gather more sun, and make sweeter fruits?

[agroventuresperu]

Well the plot thickens as it has recently been discovered that Lardizabala mimics nearby plants just like Boquila. It not only mimics leaves but just yesterday l observed it mimicking the growth form of a support tree as well. It's a rather long story but to give an overview: l have mature vines of Lardizabala growing to the top of a large Quercus suber (cork oak) at my back door.  These vines are almost 40years old & have been fruiting for about 20 years. They  are nearly 50' up to the top of the tree. I have always considered Lardizabala to be a species with quite variable leaves an observation which l put down to genetic variability,  that is until a recent trip to Tasmania where l saw a very different looking Lardizabala with very large roundish leaves with totally entire margins. As this looked so different from mine at home l obtained 2 seedling plants from the source & returned home with them. When l compared the photos of the one in Tasmania to mine l suddenly realized that the leaves were mimicking nearby plants & in fact do this just like Boquila does.

 I contacted Ernesto Gianoli in Chile who discovered the phenomenon in Boquila & sent him many photos & he concurs that Lardizabala is indeed performing the same stunt as Boquila! Further he told me that it is an accepted fact among the local traditional population in the areas where Lardizabala grows that the best flavored & quality fruit is dependent on the tree species it grows on! This may seem hard to swallow but this same species is making both cork oak leaves & Lapageria rosea leaves on the one vine at my place. It even mimics the curl of the oak &  the texture of the Lapageria.

 I like the flavor of 'oak grown' Lapageria, it's  got a nice, if subtle sweetness if you're prepared to swirl & spit to separate the pulp from the seeds! It certainly has more flavor than any Akebia l've eaten & also Stauntonia hexaphylla which is pretty bland too.

I haven't tasted Boquila as l have recently struck cuttings of one clone only, & sown seed which l hope is viable as it's taken many years to obtain here.

Wow. My hat goes off to you. You've had Lardizabala biternata fruiting for 20 years? What is the exact location in terms of climate in Australia?

I bought two small potted plants and planted them at my parents' house in Santa Barbara, CA about 11 years ago. I placed them on the north side of a wooden fence underneath an ornamental loquat tree, so that they would be in pretty heavy shade. A few years ago, I remember seeing a couple flowers on one of the vines. I haven't visited in years, but my parents still own the place, so I would be curious if those vines survived. I'll see if I can remember to ask them. Like most everything I planted there, I only ever hand watered them with deep irrigation a couple times per year (mostly to just extend the Mediterranean rainy season). It was really tough love for all the plants in that garden, just trying to determine which plants could be more drought-tolerant.

[Peter_out]

Well it's better late than never, it's only taken me a year to reply:

I am in the hills above Adelaide South Australia with an elevation of about 14-1500' facing more or less south. If you look for a virtually frost free north facing hilltop above relatively deep valleys in the hills behind Santa Barbara which gets little winter sun & add another 20" rainfall you'll have my exact climate. The Lardizabalaceae love it here, Akebia quinata, trifoliata, longiracemosa & hybrids of all 3 thrive here. Holboellia coriacea & latifolia are growing like they come from here & Decaisnea is too. Japanese Stauntonia fruit well in the area too with the oldest vine a bit higher up in an old garden under large mostly deciduous trees.
Of the more tender plants it seems anything with an origin where winters stay a bit above freezing & summers are moderated by the aspect away from the sun is happy to grow here. At the same time most everything that requires chill will grow too due to the long dark cool winters while the sun sits low for almost 6 months. . . . .

[agroventuresperu]

Well it's better late than never, it's only taken me a year to reply:

I am in the hills above Adelaide South Australia with an elevation of about 14-1500' facing more or less south. If you look for a virtually frost free north facing hilltop above relatively deep valleys in the hills behind Santa Barbara which gets little winter sun & add another 20" rainfall you'll have my exact climate. The Lardizabalaceae love it here, Akebia quinata, trifoliata, longiracemosa & hybrids of all 3 thrive here. Holboellia coriacea & latifolia are growing like they come from here & Decaisnea is too. Japanese Stauntonia fruit well in the area too with the oldest vine a bit higher up in an old garden under large mostly deciduous trees.
Of the more tender plants it seems anything with an origin where winters stay a bit above freezing & summers are moderated by the aspect away from the sun is happy to grow here. At the same time most everything that requires chill will grow too due to the long dark cool winters while the sun sits low for almost 6 months. . . . .

Thanks.