Chinese Gooseberry (Actinidia): Actinidia is natively dioecious, which means it takes two to tango. Fruit are borne on vines that produce female flowers only; somewhere nearby there needs to be a vine that produces pollen (male flowers). Self-fertile cultivars are now available, such as ‘Issai’.
The coarse Actinidia vine, with its dark, raspy leaves, is native to China, and was introduced from there to New Zealand by the early 20th century. In 1962, New Zealand growers began marketing their product as Kiwifruit.
For the Cook, Actinidia is a dynamite fruit, yielding a luscious green cross-section ornamented by a handsome ring of small, inoffensive seed. Very pretty, and pleasantly distinctive, this fruit has become standard in fruit salads.
Systematists take interest in Actinidia as representing earlier stages in the evolution of flowering plants. It stands by itself, but is in the same order as Brasil Nuts, Tea, Blueberries, and Persimmons.
The fruit is a straightforward Berry (Bacca), so a Morphologist would group it with Grapes and Tomatoes.
