Porcelain Berry, Amur peppervine, Blueberry Climber, Porcelain Berry Vine
Ampelopsis brevipedunculata

Family: Vitaceae

What it is like

A deciduous, woody, perennial climbing vine with some edible, medicinal and other uses. Bloom Color: Green. Main Bloom Time: Early summer, Late summer, Mid summer. Form: Irregular or sprawling, Spreading or horizontal, Variable spread.

Ampelopsis brevipedunculata is a deciduous Climber growing to 20 m (65ft 7in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from October to November. The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 20

Where it is found

Thickets in hills all over Japan. Climbing up trees in valleys or over shrubs on hillsides at elevations of 100 - 600 metres in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces of China.

E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea, E. Russia.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 2

Leaf buds - cooked. Leaves and stems - cooked. Fruit - raw or cooked. The fruit is 6 - 8mm in diameter and is carried in small bunches like grapes. Not very palatable.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The fresh fruits, roots and leaves are antiphlogistic, depurative and febrifuge. Resolves clots. It is used externally in the treatment of boils, abscesses and ulcers, traumatic bruises and aches.

Antiphlogistic: Reduces inflammation.

Depurative: Eliminates toxins and purifies the system, especially the blood.

Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.

Other

Rating: 1

An ornamental plant. Landscape Uses: Arbor, Container, Pollard.

How it is grown

Landscape Uses:Arbor, Container, Pollard. Prefers a deep rich loam in a warm sheltered position in full sun. Succeeds in poor soils. Does well on a south wall. A very ornamental plant, there are some named varieties. Most forms of this species, especially the sub-species A. brevipedunculata maximowiczii. (Reg.)Rehd. (syn A. heterophylla. Sieb.&Zucc.), are very hardy in Britain when dormant, but the cultivar 'Elegans' is frost-tender and usually grown as a pot plant. The draft Flora of China has a different treatment for these plants, it recognises A. heterophylla as the correct name for A. brevipedunculata maximowiczii and reduces this species to a subspecies as A. heterophylla brevipedunculata. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun. Plants rarely fruit in Britain except after a long hot summer. Another report says that if the plant is growing in a poor soil on a south facing wall then it fruits quite regularly. Plants fruit better if their roots are restricted, this can be achieved by root pruning in the winter or by putting the plant into a large container and then placing this in the soil. Growth, especially in good soils, can be very vigorous and this is usually at the expense of the fruits. Any pruning is best carried out in the winter. The shoots have sticky pads and are self-supporting on walls. Other reports say that plants climb by means of coiling tendrils but large plants often need tying in to support the weight of foliage. Special Features: Attracts birds, Attractive foliage, Not North American native, Invasive, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms.

Propagating it: Seed - sow in pots in a cold frame in the autumn or stratify for 6 weeks at 5°c and sow in the spring. Germination can be quite slow, sometimes taking more than a year. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. When they are more than 20cm tall, they can be planted out into their permanent positions, preferably in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm long, July/August in a frame. Cuttings or eyes in late autumn or winter. Either place them in the ground in a greenhouse or cold frame, or put them in pots. An eye cutting is where you have just one bud at the top and a short length of stem with a small part of the bark removed. These normally root well and grow away vigorously, being ready to plant into their permanent positions the following autumn. Layering into pots in late summer. Partially sever the stem in spring and then lift the new plants in the autumn.

Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Dappled Shade;

Habit: Climber

Hardiness: 5-8

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

A major invasive plant species in parts of the Eastern United States. In Connecticut (porcelainberry) is potentially invasive but not banned. In Massachusetts (porcelain-berry, Amur peppervine) is prohibited.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

A. heterophylla amurensis. Cissus brevipedunculata.