Akebia

/əˈkɛbiə/ noun

Definition

A genus of climbing plants native to East Asia, particularly the five-leafed akebia (Akebia quinata), cultivated for ornamental purposes and edible fruit.

Etymology

From Japanese akebi with Latinized scientific nomenclature suffix -ia, creating the botanical genus name used in international scientific classification since the 19th century.

Kelly Says

When Western botanists discovered akebia in Japan, they gave it a Latinized scientific name—but they basically just took the Japanese word and added a Latin ending, which is pretty common in plant science!

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.