The kiwifruit is the edible berry of a cultivar group of the woody vine Actinidia deliciosa and hybrids between this and other species in the genus Actinidia. The Actinidia is native to China. Also known as the Chinese Gooseberry, the fruit was renamed for export marketing reasons in the 1950s; briefly to melonette, and then by New Zealand exporters to kiwifruit. This latter name comes from the kiwi ââ¬â a flightless bird and New Zealand's national symbol, and also a colloquial name for the New Zealand people.To avoid confusion with the bird and the people, the fruit is always called kiwifruit in New Zealand and Australia. However, in other countries, kiwifruit is often referred to colloquially as kiwi.
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