A valuable climber grown not only for its ornamental and medicinal properties but also for consumption. Fruits, leaves and bark contain schisandrine (tonifying and strengthening substance), vitamin E and are rich in microelements. Flowers small, creamy-white during May and June. Scarlet, round berries, borne in grape-like clusters, ripen from August to September. It starts bearing fruit in the fourth-sixth year after planting. A hardy, high-climbing species reaching 3-10 m (1 m of annual growth). Requires moist but not damp, fertile soils. Particularly useful for growing over fences and buildings, but it can also be left scrambling over arbors, pergolas and various supports.