Actinidia indochinensis
Actinidia indochinensis is a woody climber in the family Actinidiaceae. Kew accepts the species described by Merrill in 1938, with a native range extending from southern China to northern Vietnam. It recognises two varieties, var. indochinensis and var. ovatifolia.[1]
Appearance
Flora of China describes a large deciduous climber whose young leaves become leathery as they age. The leaves are green above and bluish beneath, with rusty glandular hairs along the lower veins. Small clusters bear flowers that are usually white. The nearly round fruits lose the sepals that surrounded the flowers.[2]
The Vietnamese revision describes vines about five metres long, with reddish speckling on the young branches and leaf undersides. Its flowers occur singly or in small clusters.[3]
Habitat and seasonal growth
The Chinese flora records dense mountain forest at six hundred to thirteen hundred metres, with flowering in March and April and fruiting in September and October.[2] The Vietnamese account records steep forested slopes near Sapa at sixteen hundred to two thousand metres. These regional observations cover different parts of the range.[3]
Classification
The species has also been treated as Actinidia callosa var. indochinensis, a name Kew now lists as a synonym.[1] In 2007, researchers compared flowering and fruiting specimens with the A. callosa complex. Many measurements overlapped, but differences in hairs and reddish surface markings supported retaining A. indochinensis separately. The authors emphasised their small sample and unresolved boundaries between these plants.[3]
A separate historical label, Actinidia indochinensis attributed to H. L. Li, should not be confused with Merrill's species. The Vietnamese revision traced that usage to a mistaken citation of A. tonkinensis, a plant treated within A. latifolia.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Actinidia indochinensis Merr. Plants of the World Online. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Li, J., Li, X. and Soejarto, D. D. (2007). Actinidiaceae. Flora of China 12, 334–360; pp.344–345. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Cuong, N. M., Soejarto, D. D. and Li, J. (2007). A taxonomic revision of Actinidiaceae of Vietnam. Blumea 52, 209–243; pp.220–223, 229 and 232, doi:10.3767/000651907X608981. Accessed 9 October 2026.