Actinidia
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| Missing image Actinidia_fruit.jpg Actinidia foliage and fruit | ||||||||||||
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Between 40-60; see text. |
Actinidia is a genus of woody plants native to temperate eastern Asia, occurring throughout most of China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan, and extending north to southeast Siberia and south into Indochina. The genus includes shrubs growing to 6 m tall, and vigorous, strong-growing vines, growing up to 30 m in tree canopies.
The leaves are alternate, simple, with a dentate margin and a long petiole. The flowers are solitary or in axillary cymes, usually white, with five small petals. Most of the species are dioecious with separate male and female plants, but some are monoecious. The fruit is a large berry containing numerous small seeds; in most species the fruit is edible.
There are about 40-60 species of Actinidia:
- Actinidia arguta (Kokuwa or Tara Vine). Fruit 10-15 g, with green edible skins and green flesh; hardier than A. deliciosa.
- Actinidia arisanensis
- Actinidia callosa
- Actinidia carnosifolia
- Actinidia chengkouensis
- Actinidia chinensis
- Actinidia chrysantha
- Actinidia cinerascens
- Actinidia cordifolia. Similar to A. arguta
- Actinidia coriacea
- Actinidia cylindrica
- Actinidia deliciosa (Yangtao or Chinese gooseberry). The Kiwifruit is a Cultivar Group of this species.
- Actinidia eriantha
- Actinidia farinosa
- Actinidia fasciculoides
- Actinidia fortunatii
- Actinidia fulvicoma
- Actinidia glauco-callosa
- Actinidia glaucophylla
- Actinidia globosa
- Actinidia gracilis
- Actinidia grandiflora
- Actinidia hemsleyana
- Actinidia henryi
- Actinidia holotricha
- Actinidia indochinensis
- Actinidia kolomikta (Kolomikta or Arctic Beauty). Fruit very small, 8 g or smaller; the hardiest species (to about -40°C); distinctive variegated foliage (even on wild plants, an unusual phenomenon).
- Actinidia laevissima
- Actinidia lanceolata
- Actinidia latifolia
- Actinidia leptophylla
- Actinidia liangguangensis
- Actinidia macrosperma
- Actinidia maloides
- Actinidia melanandra
- Actinidia melliana
- Actinidia obovata
- Actinidia pilosula
- Actinidia polygama (Silver Vine). Fruit small, 2-2.5 cm diameter, yellow.
- Actinidia purpurea. Fruit similar to A. arguta but red-fleshed.
- Actinidia rubricaulis
- Actinidia rubus
- Actinidia rudis
- Actinidia rufotricha
- Actinidia sabiaefolia
- Actinidia sorbifolia
- Actinidia stellato-pilosa
- Actinidia styracifolia
- Actinidia suberifolia
- Actinidia tetramera
- Actinidia trichogyna
- Actinidia ulmifolia
- Actinidia umbelloides
- Actinidia valvata
- Actinidia vitifolia
- Actinidia venosa
Uses
For the edible fruit, see Kiwifruit. Some species are grown as ornamental plants, notably A. kolomikta, grown for its white- and pink- variegated leaves.