How do you recognise Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa)?

Leaf

Forest & Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0

Kiwifruit

Actinidia deliciosa (A.Chev.) C.F.Liang & A.R.Ferguson

Also known as: Kiwi, Chinese gooseberry

Family: Actinidiaceae

Climber that can reach 8 to 10 m on a support

Grown on trellises or pergolas, mild and humid climate

Flowering: May – June

Full sun

Fairly hardy, to about -15°C, sensitive to late frosts on young shoots

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Like sea buckthorn, kiwi is dioecious: you absolutely need a male AND a female plant growing close together to get fruit — a single plant is never enough. The ordinary kiwi fruit has brown, fuzzy skin and a large fruit; the hardy kiwi has skin as smooth as a grape, a much smaller fruit, and is eaten whole without peeling.

🍃 Leaves

Large, heart-shaped, downy, deciduous

🌸 Flowers

Creamy white; dioecious plant (separate male and female plants)

🍎 Fruits

Oval berry with brown fuzzy skin, tangy green flesh dotted with small black seeds

🪵 Bark

Vigorous climber, brown stem slightly downy when young

🗺️ Distribution

Native to China; cultivated in France, notably in the south-west

🐝 Value for pollinators

Nectar-rich flowers; needs a male and a female plant nearby to fruit

✂️ Horticultural uses

Fruiting climber grown on trellises, planted as a male/female pair to produce fruit

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Fruit edible; no known toxicity to humans

⚠️ Look-alike species

Kiwifruit

Actinidia deliciosa

Hardy kiwi

Actinidia arguta

The ordinary kiwi fruit has brown, fuzzy skin and a large fruit; the hardy kiwi has skin as smooth as a grape, a much smaller fruit, and is eaten whole without peeling.

🌿 Other Actinidiaceae to discover

Hardy kiwi

Actinidia arguta

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.