Baby kiwi

[Kent Wang]

I just bought some from Central Market and they're quite tasty. The taste is very similar to kiwi, not as tart (though I imagine truly ripe kiwi is another matter).

A catalog page with photos.

What's the actual species name? Where are they cultivated?

[shengcai]

Actinidia arguta is the genus and species for baby kiwi.

Actinidia chinensis or A. deliciosa is the name for your standard kiwi fruit.

From an abstract published by the International Society for Horticultural Science:

The vines of Actinidia arguta have the reputation of being difficult to manage, the fruit ripen irregularly on the vine and the storage life and shelf life of the fruit is limited compared to those of A. chinensis ‘Hort16A’ or A. deliciosa ‘Hayward’. However, the wonderful flavour and convenience of the fruit more than compensate for these apparent difficulties.

There have been many attempts over the past 100 years to grow A. arguta commercially. Most attempts have been unsuccessful because of the difficulties in managing the vine and the fruit and because the fruit has a relatively short storage life. Commercial production is now underway on a small scale in Oregon, USA, in Europe, New Zealand and South America.

[doviakw]

Actinidia arguta is the genus and species for baby kiwi.

Actinidia chinensis or A.  deliciosa is the name for your standard kiwi fruit.

From an abstract published by the International Society for Horticultural Science:

The vines of Actinidia arguta have the reputation of being difficult to manage, the fruit ripen irregularly on the vine and the storage life and shelf life of the fruit is limited compared to those of A. chinensis ‘Hort16A’ or A. deliciosa ‘Hayward’. However, the wonderful flavour and convenience of the fruit more than compensate for these apparent difficulties.

There have been many attempts over the past 100 years to grow A. arguta commercially. Most attempts have been unsuccessful because of the difficulties in managing the vine and the fruit and because the fruit has a relatively short storage life. Commercial production is now underway on a small scale in Oregon, USA, in Europe, New Zealand and South America.

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I have some growing on a fence here in Pennsylvania. I can vouch for the vine management and irregular ripening issues although these are manageable since we only cultivate them for personal consumption. Very tasty!