Kiwifruit

The kiwifruit or Chinese gooseberry (sometimes shortened to kiwi) is the edible berry of a woody vine in the genus Actinidia. The most common cultivar group of kiwifruit ('Hayward') is oval, about the size of a large hen's egg (5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in) in length and 4.5–5.5 cm (1.8–2.2 in) in diameter). It has a fibrous, dull greenish-brown skin and bright green or golden flesh with rows of tiny, black, edible seeds. The fruit has a soft texture and a sweet but unique flavor. It is a commercial crop in several countries, such as Italy, New Zealand, Chile, Greece, and France.

In New Zealand the word kiwi usually refers to the kiwi bird or the people of New Zealand, so it is seldom used to refer to the fruit.

History

Kiwifruit is native to north-central and eastern China. Cultivation of the fuzzy kiwifruit spread from China in the early 20th century to New Zealand, where the first commercial plantings occurred. Although cultivars were called by a variety of Chinese names, such as yang tao, the name "Chinese gooseberry" became commonplace, due to the flavor and color of the flesh, among growers in England and New Zealand during the early 20th Century, as well with American servicemen stationed in New Zealand during World War II. The fruit was exported to California using the names "Chinese gooseberry" and "melonette". In 1962, New Zealand growers began calling it "kiwifruit" to give it more market appeal, and a California-based importer subsequently used that name when introducing the fruit to the American market.

.kiwi

.kiwi is an Internet generic top-level domain with emphasis on New Zealand. It employs the colloquial term kiwi, used to refer to New Zealanders. It is New Zealand's first and presently only "top level domain name approved by ICANN".

See also

References

Further reading

Kiwi!

Kiwi! is a 2006 computer-generated animation created by Dony Permedi, a student in the New York City School of Visual Arts, as his Master's Thesis Animation, with music composed and performed by Tim Cassell. The animation's story of a kiwi that aspires to fly created a major Internet phenomenon after it was hosted on the video sharing site YouTube. Unofficial versions of the video pair it with Mad World by Tears for Fears. These versions became popular viral videos.

Plot

The video itself centers around a kiwi bird who is mysteriously seen to be nailing an array of trees to the side of a sheer cliff so that they stick out horizontally. After the kiwi finishes it returns to the top of the cliff, before donning an aviator's cap and suddenly jumping off. As it dives down the cliff head-first the camera view turns sideways, revealing the purpose behind the kiwi's efforts. A tear wells from one eye as the kiwi achieves its dream, flapping its tiny wings as it "flies" above the forest of trees. The kiwi then disappears into the fog below: at the very end a faint thump is heard, implying that it died in the attempt.

Kiwi

Kiwi (pronounced /kiːwiː/) or kiwis are flightless birds native to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae. At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites (which also consist of ostriches, emus, rheas, and cassowaries), and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world. DNA sequence comparisons have yielded the surprising conclusion that kiwi are much more closely related to the extinct Malagasy elephant birds than to the moa with which they shared New Zealand. There are five recognised species, two of which are currently vulnerable, one of which is endangered, and one of which is critically endangered. All species have been negatively affected by historic deforestation but currently the remaining large areas of their forest habitat are well protected in reserves and national parks. At present, the greatest threat to their survival is predation by invasive mammalian predators.

The kiwi is a national symbol of New Zealand, and the association is so strong that the term Kiwi is used internationally as the colloquial demonym for New Zealanders.