Schizandra chinensis / WU WEI ZI / Schizandra Berries

Botanical Name – Schizandra chinensis

Chinese Name – WU WEI ZI

English Name – Schizandra Berries

Schizandra chinensis (common name: magnolia-vine, Chinese magnolia-vine, schisandra), whose fruit is called magnolia berry or five-flavour berry, is a deciduous woody vine native to forests of Northern China and the Russian Far East.

The plant likes some shade with moist, well-drained soil.

Its Chinese name (five-flavour berry) comes from the fact that its berries possess all five basic flavours: salty, sweet, sour, pungent (spicy), and bitter.

Its berries are used in traditional medicine, where it is considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs.