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Actinidia (aktis, ray; referring to the radiate styles). Dilleniaceae. Climbing shrubs cultivated for their handsome foliage which is beautifully variegated in some species, and a few also for their edible fruit.
Twining shrubs: winter-buds inclosed in the swollen base of the petiole: lvs. alternate, long-stalked, senate or sometimes entire: fls. in axillary cymes sometimes solitary, dioecious or polygamous, cup-shaped, 1/2-2 in. across, white or rarely reddish; sepals 5, imbricate; petals 5, convolute; stamens numerous; ovary superior, many-celled; styles numerous, ray-like spreading: fr. a berry, with numerous small seeas.— More than 20 species, chiefly in E. Asia from Saghalin to Java, also on the Himalayas. A revision of the genus has been published by Dunn in Jour. Linn. Soc. Bot. 39:394-410(1911).
About 7 species are in cultivation; of these A. Kolomikta is the hardiest, growing as far north as eastern Canada; A. arguta and A. polygama are hardy in Massachusetts, while A. chinensis, which is the most beautiful of all, and A. coriacea, are hardy only south of Washington, but may be grown farther north if taken down in autumn and covered with leaves. A. arguta is excellent for covering arbors, trellises, walls and the like and is remarkably free from insects and fungi. A. Kolomikta and A. polygama show a very striking silvery white or pinkish variegation of the foliage, which is more pronounced in the staminate plant. A. arguta and A. chinensis are also worth cultivating for their edible fruits, particularly the latter, which has fruits up to 2 inches long, of a gooseberry-like flavor; to obtain fruit, it is necessary to plant both sexes or a plant with polygamous flowers. A. polygama, and, in a lesser degree, A. Kolomikta, attract cats and are often destroyed by them if not protected by screens.
The actinidias prefer somewhat moist and rich soil and grow as well in a sunny as in a half-shady position.
Propagation is by seeds, which are sown in spring and germinate readily; also by cuttings, of half-ripened wood in summer or by hardwood cuttings under glass, and also by layers.
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