Actinidia 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. In particular, this genus is known for the species "Actinidia deliciosa", the kiwifruit or Chinese gooseberry, and for the hardy ornamental "A. kolomikta". "Actinidia" macrofossils have been recovered from the late Zanclean stage of Pliocene sites in Pocapaglia, Italy. The 40–60 species of "Actinidia" include: Kiwifruit is a cultivar group of "A. deliciosa", and hardy kiwi is the species "Actinidia arguta", which has small
Kiwifruit since around 1966, when the fruit was first exported from New Zealand to the United States. Kiwifruit has since become a common name for all commercially grown green kiwifruit from the genus "Actinidia". In New Zealand, the shortened word "kiwi" is never used to refer to the fruit, as it usually either refers to the kiwi bird or is a nickname for New Zealanders. Early varieties were described in a 1904 nurseryman's catalogue as having "...edible fruits the size of walnuts, and the flavour of ripe gooseberries", leading to the name "Chinese gooseberry". In 1962, New Zealand growers began calling