Actinidia kolomikta

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Actinidia kolomikta
Actinidia kolomikta.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Actinidiaceae
Genus: Actinidia
Species:
A. kolomikta
Binomial name
Actinidia kolomikta
Synonyms [1]
  • Actinidia maloidesH.L.Li

Actinidia kolomikta, the kolomikta, [2] miyamatatabi, [3] super-hardy kiwi, [4] or variegated-leaf hardy kiwi, [5] is a species of flowering plant in the family Actinidiaceae, native to temperate mixed forests of the Russian Far East, Korea, Japan and China (Eastern Asiatic Region). [1]

Contents

Description

The plant is a very long-lived, deciduous woody scrambling vine and creeper, [6] which ultimately grows to 8–10 m (26–33 ft). It is the hardiest species in the genus Actinidia, at least down to about −40 °C (−40 °F) in winter, albeit somewhat susceptible to late spring frosts.

Cultivation

Actinidia kolomikta is an ornamental plant for gardens and a houseplant. The plant was collected by Charles Maries in Sapporo, on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, where the plant was locally called miyamatatabi, [7] in 1878, and sent to his patrons, Veitch Nurseries, who introduced it into Western horticulture. [8]

Actinidia kolomikta is cultivated in cold temperate regions as an ornamental plant, largely for the striking random variegation in pink and white of some its leaves but also because of the relatively small (2-5 g or 0.07- 0.18 ounces) kiwifruit-like berries it produces. There are a number of named cultivars bred for the latter purpose in Russia and Poland, though it takes years for a plant to start yielding, and because A. kolomikta is dioecious a male pollenizer plant is required for the wild vines and most of the cultivars.

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [2]

Pests

The plant is attractive to cats, which find it more attractive than catnip or valerian and can severely damage the vine. An early propagator in Boston found all his pots of the newly introduced plant bitten to stubs in his greenhouse, before his cat was discovered to be the culprit. [8]

Etymology

Actinidia is derived from Greek and means ‘rayed’, which is a reference to the rayed styles of the flowers. [9]

Kolomikta is a vernacular name from Amur in eastern Russia, and is probably in reference to the multifarious color of the leaves. [9]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Actinidia arguta</i> Species of plant

Actinidia arguta, the hardy kiwi, is a perennial vine native to Japan, Korea, Northern China, and the Russian Far East. It produces a small kiwifruit without the hair-like fiber covering the outside, unlike most other species of the genus.

<i>Actinidia deliciosa</i> Species of plant

Actinidia deliciosa, the fuzzy kiwifruit, is a fruiting vine native to Southern China. Other species of Actinidia are also found in China and range east to Japan and north into southern areas of Russian Far East. This species grows naturally at altitudes between 600 and 2,000 m.

<i>Euonymus fortunei</i> Species of flowering plant

Euonymus fortunei, the spindle, Fortune's spindle, winter creeper or wintercreeper, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to east Asia, including China, Korea, the Philippines and Japan. It is named after the Scottish botanist and plant explorer Robert Fortune. E. fortunei is highly invasive and damaging in the United States, causing the death of trees and forest in urban areas.

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<i>Actinidia chinensis</i> Species of plant

Actinidia chinensis(Planch.), known commercially as the golden kiwifruit, is a fruiting vine, native to China. It is one of some 40 related species of the genus Actinidia, and closely related to Actinidia deliciosa, which is the source of the most common commercial kiwifruit. Fruit colour may vary from green to lime green or gold, depending on breeding.

<i>Viburnum plicatum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae

Viburnum plicatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae, native to mainland China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. The Latin specific epithet plicatum means “pleated”, referring to the texture of the leaves.

Hardy kiwi is the name of a fruit product and common name of several species of the genus Actinidia:

<i>Campanula punctata</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula punctata, the spotted bellflower, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This ornamental herbaceous perennial is native to Japan, Korea, China and Siberia, and is widely cultivated for its attractive bell-shaped flowers.

<i>Rhododendron mucronulatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Rhododendron mucronulatum, the Korean rhododendron or Korean rosebay, is a rhododendron species native to Korea, Mongolia, Russia, and parts of northern China. It is a deciduous shrub that grows to 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) in height, with elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate leaves, 3–7 cm long by 1–3.5 cm wide. The reddish-purple flowers appear in late winter or early spring, often on the bare branches before the foliage unfurls. It inhabits forested regions at 1,600–2,300 m (5,200–7,500 ft).

References

  1. 1 2 Li, Jianqiang; Li, Xinwei; Soejarto, D. Doel. "Actinidia kolomikta". Flora of China. Vol. 12. Retrieved 2013-11-18 via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  2. 1 2 "Actinidia kolomikta". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  3. "Actinidia kolomikta". Love Evergreen. Archived from the original on 2021-06-02.
  4. "Hardy Kiwifruit". California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc. 1996. Archived from the original on 2011-04-10.
  5. English Names for Korean Native Plants (PDF). Pocheon: Korea National Arboretum. 2015. p. 338. ISBN   978-89-97450-98-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2016 via Korea Forest Service.
  6. "Actinidia kolomikta - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  7. Yoshisuke, Satake (1989). Wild Flowers of Japan. Tokyo: Heibonsha. ISBN   4-582-53513-5.
  8. 1 2 Alice M. Coats, Garden Shrubs and Their History (1964) 1992, s.v. "Actinidia".
  9. 1 2 Gledhill, David (2008). The Names of Plants. Cambridge University Press. pp. 35, 225. ISBN   978-0-521-86645-3.