Hardy kiwi (Actinidia arguta)
Description
Actinidia arguta, the hardy kiwi, is a perennial vine native to Japan, Korea, Northern China, and Russian Far East. It produces a small fruit resembling the kiwifruit. The fruit are referred to as hardy kiwifruit, kiwi berry, arctic kiwi, baby kiwi, dessert kiwi, grape kiwi, northern kiwi, or cocktail kiwi, and are edible, berry- or grape-sized fruit similar to kiwifruit in taste and appearance, but are green, brownish, or purple with smooth skin, sometimes with a red blush. Often sweeter than the kiwifruit, hardy kiwifruit can be eaten whole and do not need to be peeled. Thin-walled, its exterior is smooth and leathery. Actinidia is a genus of woody and, with a few exceptions, dioecious 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 (20 ft) tall, and vigorous, strong-growing vines, growing up to 30 m (98 ft) in tree canopies. They mostly tolerate temperatures down to around -15-C (5-F), and some are much hardier.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Ericales
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Family: Actinidiaceae
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Genus: Actinidia
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