Okawakame (a kind of Madeira vine)

My Okawakame produces these ginger looking nodules at the leaf nodes as the vine matures (bottom right), but recently I've noticed it also produces this long flower (top left). I'm not sure what the flower will produce, but I suspect it will be a small berry with a seed inside, but I'll just have to wait and see.

Okawakame (a kind of Madeira vine)

(11/20) My Okawakame does not look like my mother-in-laws in Tokyo and I could not understand why, but I learned that her plant is over three years old. The vine will get stronger and develop larger leaves as it matures, so I just need to wait another year or so. 

Okawakame (a kind of Madeira vine)

(8/29) I moved my Okawakame vine again and had to cut all the top growth. I harvested over 400 grams (nearly 1 pound) of leaves. Okawakame is a kind of Maderia vine. It has a sticky texture, similar to Okra. Boil the leaves for a few seconds, let cook and add Ponzu and Katsubushi (Bonito flakes) when you are ready to eat. Delicious!    

Okawakame (a kind of Madeira vine)

I moved the Okawakame (a kind of Madeira vine) plant to the center of my side balcony and suspended some ropes for it to clime. The seeds near the base of the plant are starting to grow, so I expect rapid growth shortly.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I thought the seeds were roots (bottom right), but as I witnessed the growth of the vine, I learned that the strangely shaped seeds grow from the vine at the base of each leaf (center in a white oval). The seeds touching the ground are starting to root and grow new vines (top right).

Okawakame (a kind of Madeira vine)

(7 January) Growing Okawakame (Madeira vine, Land Seaweed)  in a medium sized planter with a circular trellis. There are currently three different vines growing around 4-6 inches (10-15 cm) a day, so I need to train the vines every day. 

(18 February) The Okawakame is growing quickly and almost to the top of the trellis.

Originally I thought this was a root, but later realized it is a seed.

These seeds are growing at the base of every leaf. 

Okawakame (a kind of Madeira vine)

My wife and I bought a bag of Okawakame seeds from a farmer's market. The seeds were sold to eat, but I decided to plant them. The seeds look like small Ginger root. I planted this particular seed about a week ago and it has already started to sprout.

Okawakame is a vine, so I planted it with the Bitter melon (Goya), right side, and Bush Beans (String Beans), left side. There is a white net against the wall to allow them all to climb.

Okawakame Seed

Okawakame Sprout 

Okawakame Vine

Okawakame (a kind of Madeira vine)

Okawakame is a kind of Madeira vine. Okawakame is a Japanese word that literally means Land Seaweed, because it resembles seaweed when cooked. The entire plant (leaves, vine and root) can be eaten and it will grow year after year in temperate climates. When it gets a little taller I will add a neat against the wall to allow it to climb.

This is what is should look like when it matures.