Actinidia deliciosa
| Chinese gooseberry | ||||||||||||||
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 Fruit | ||||||||||||||
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Actinidia deliciosa C.F.Liang.& A.R.Ferguson. |
Actinidia deliciosa (syn. Actinidia chinensis deliciosa) or kiwifruit is native to southern China, where it is declared as the National fruit of China. [1] Other species of Actinidia are also found in China and range east to Japan and north into southeastern Siberia. This species grows naturally at altitudes between 600 - 2,000 m.
Characteristics
Actinidia deliciosa is borne on a vigorous, woody, twining vine or climbing shrub reaching 9 m[1].
Leaves
Its leaves are alternate, long-petioled, deciduous, oval to nearly circular, cordate at the base, 7.5-12.5 cm long.
Young leaves are coated with red hairs; mature leaves are dark-green and hairless on the upper surface, downy-white with prominent, light-colored veins beneath.[1]
Flowers
The flowers are fragrant, dioecious or bisexual, borne singly or in 3's in the leaf axils, are 5- to 6-petalled, white at first, changing to buff-yellow, 2.5-5 cm broad, and both sexes have central tufts of many stamens though those of the female flowers with no viable pollen. [1] The flowers also lack nectar.
It flowers in November. Male and female flowers appear on different plants (dioecious) and both sexes have to be planted in close proximity for fruit set. Bees are normally used by commercial orchards, although the more labour intensive hand pollination is sometimes employed. Male flowers are gathered and processed to extract their pollen. This is then sprayed back on to the female flowers.
Fruits
The oblong fruits are up to 6.25 cm long. The russet-brown skin of the fruits is densely covered with short, stiff brown hairs.
The flesh is firm until fully ripen; it is glistening, juicy and luscious. The color of the flesh is bright-green, or sometimes yellow, brownish or off-white, except for the white, succulent center from which radiate many fine, pale lines.
The flavor is subacid to quite acid; it is suggested that it is similar to the favours of the gooseberry or strawberry.[1]
Varieties
Zhong Hua (Chinese gooseberry), Jing Li (northern pear gooseberry), Ruan Zao (Soft date gooseberry)and Mao Hua (may be tight- or loose-haired) are 4 main varieties of this species in China. Abbott, Allison, Bruno, Hayward, Monty (Montgomery) and Greensill are the cultivars in New Zealand.
History
In 1847, Specimens of the plant were collected by the agent for the Royal Horticultural Society, London.[1]
Cultivation spread from China in the early 20th century when seeds were introduced to New Zealand by Isabel Fraser, the principal of Wanganui Girls' College, who had been visiting mission schools in China. The seeds were planted in 1906 by a Wanganui nurseryman, Alexander Allison, with the vines first fruiting in 1910.
People who tasted the fruit then thought it had a gooseberry flavour and began to call it the Chinese Gooseberry, but being from the actinidia family it is not related to the Grossulariaceae (gooseberry) family.
The familiar cultivar Actinidia deliciosa 'Hayward' was developed by Hayward Wright in Avondale, New Zealand around 1924. This is the most widely grown cultivar in the world. Chinese Gooseberry was initially grown in domestic gardens, but commercial planting began in the 1940s.
In 1959, Turners and Growers named it, Kiwifruit, after New Zealand's national bird, the kiwi - brown and furry.
Italy is now the leading producer of kiwifruit in the world, followed by New Zealand, Chile, France, Greece, Japan and the United States. Kiwifruit is still produced in its birthplace China, but China has never made it to the top 10 list of kiwifruit producing countries. In China, it is grown mainly in the mountainous area upstream of the Yangtze River. It is also grown in other areas of China, including Sichuan.
References
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Actinidia deliciosa". Image Credit.
