Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Kiwi |
KiwiNoun1. Climbing vine native to China; cultivated in New Zealand for its fuzzy edible fruit with green meat. 2. Fuzzy brown egg-shaped fruit with slightly tart green flesh. 3. Nocturnal flightless bird of New Zealand having a long neck and stout legs; only surviving representative of the order Apterygiformes. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Kiwis Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Struthioniformes Family: Apterygidae Genus: Apteryx Species Brown Kiwi, A. australis
Great Spotted Kiwi, A. hastii
Little Spotted Kiwi, A. owenii
This is an article about the flightless birds native to New Zealand called kiwi. For information on the people of that country, who are nicknamed "Kiwis", see New Zealand. For information on the fruit of Chinese origin, see Kiwifruit.
The Kiwi is any of the species of small flightless birds native to New Zealand of the genus Apteryx. At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites. Though they are thought to be most closely related to either cassowaries or moa, their evolutionary origin is still uncertain.
Prior to the arrival of humans in about 1300 CE, New Zealand had no mammals, and the ecological niches that in other parts of the world were filled by creatures as diverse as horses, wolves and mice were taken up by birds (and, to a lesser extent, reptiles).
Kiwi are shy, nocturnal creatures with a highly developed sense of smell and, most unusually in a bird, nostrils at the end of their long, sharp bill. They feed by thrusting the bill into the ground in search of worms, insects, and other invertebrates; though they also take fruit and, if the opportunity arises, small crayfish, amphibians and eels.
Their adaptation to a terrestrial life is extensive: like all ratities they have no keel on the breastbone to anchor wing muscles, and barely any wings either: the vestiges are so small that they are invisible under the kiwi's bristly, hair-like, two-branched feathers. While birds generally have hollow bones to save weight and make flight practicable, kiwi have marrow, in the style of mammals.
There are three species, one of which has two sub-species:
- The North Island Brown Kiwi, Apteryx australis mantelli is widespread in the northern two-thirds of the North Island and with about 35,000 remaining is the most common kiwi. Females stand about 40cm high and weigh about 2.8 kilos, the males about 2.2 kilos. The North Island Brown has demonstrated a remarkable resiliance: it adapts to a wide range of habitats, even non-native forests and some farmland. The plumage is streaky red-brown and spiky. The female usually lays two eggs, which are incubated by the male.
- The Okarito Brown Kiwi, Apteryx australis australis, is a recently identified sub-species of the North Island Brown, slightly smaller, with a greyish tinge to the plumage and sometimes white facial feathers. Females lay as many as three eggs in a season, each one in a different nest. Male and female both incubate. Only about 140 birds survive, in lowland forest to the north of Franz Josef.
- The largest species is the Great Spotted Kiwi, Apteryx hastii, which stands about 45cm high and weighs about 3.3 kilos. (Males about 2.4 kilos.) It has grey-brown plumage with lighter bands. The female lays just one egg, with both sexes incubating. Population is estimated to be over 20,000, distributed through the more mountainous parts of northwest Nelson, the northern West Coast, and the Southern Alps.
- The very small Little Spotted Kiwi, Apteryx owenii is unable to survive predation by imported pigs, stoats and cats and is extinct on the mainland and the most threatened of all kiwi. About 1000 remain on Kapiti Island and it has been introduced to other predator-free islands and appears to be becoming established. A docile bird the size of a bantam, it stands 25cm high and the female weighs 1.3 kilos. She lays one egg which is incubated by the male.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Kiwi."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Kiwifruit Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Ericales Family: Actinidiaceae Genus: Actinidia Species Actinidia chinensis
Actinidia arguta, (Tara Vine)
Actinidia kolomikta, (Arctic Beauty)
Actinidia polygama, (Silver Vine)The kiwifruit is the fruit of a large woody vine, most commonly of the species Actinidia chinensis (order Ericales, family Actinidiaceae). The fruit is about the size of a hen's egg (about 6 cm long and 4.5 to 5.5 cm around), and is often not perfectly round. It has a hairy, dull-brown skin that is not usually consumed. Inside, the flesh is bright green with rows of small, black, edible seeds. The texture of the fruit is soft and the flavour is sometimes described as a mix of strawberry, banana and pineapple. Kiwifruit is a rich source of vitamin C. Its potassium content by weight is slightly less than that of a banana. It also contains vitamins A and E, calcium, iron and folic acid.
The kiwifruit and other species of actinidia are native to south-east China, where it grows wild and is known as:
Cultivation spread from China in the early 20th century when seeds were taken back to New Zealand by Isabel Fraser, the principal of Wanganui Girls' College, who had been visiting mission schools in China.
- Macaco monkey peach (猕猴桃 Mi2 hou2 tao2): the most common name
- Unusual fruit or wonder fruit (奇異果 qi2 yi4 guo3): the most common name in Taiwan and Hong Kong (奇异果 kay yee goh). A quasi-transliteration of "kiwifruit".
- Yang peach (阳桃 Yang2 tao2)
- Ghost peach (羊桃 yang2 tao2)
- Hairy pear (毛梨 mao2 li2)
- Vine pear (藤梨 teng2 li2)
The seeds were planted in 1906 by a Wanganui nurseryman, Alexander Allison, with the vines first fruiting in 1910. It was initially grown in domestic gardens, but commercial planting began in the 1940s. New Zealand is now the leading producer of kiwifruit, followed by France, the United States, Italy, Spain, and Japan. Kiwifruit is still produced in its birth place in China but China has never made it to the top 10 list of kiwifruit producing countries. In China, it is grown mainly in the mountainous area upstream of Chang Jiang. It also grown in other areas of China including Sichuan and Taiwan.
The kiwifruit was previously called the "Chinese gooseberry", based on the flavour and colour of its flesh. However, New Zealand fruit and vegetables export company Turners and Growers began calling it the kiwifruit in 1959 to give it more marketing appeal. Growers gradually adopted the name and in 1974 the kiwifruit became the official trade name.
A new type with golden flesh and sweet flavour resembling a tropical fruit salad was produced by New Zealand horticulturalists and is being marketed worldwide in increasing volumes. Some wild vines in China have golden fruit but it is small and not commercially viable. Seeds from these plants were imported to New Zealand in 1987 and the horticulturalists took 11 years to develop the new fruit through cross-pollination and grafting with green kiwi vines. Golden kiwifruit has a smooth, bronze skin, a pointed cap at one end and distinctive golden yellow flesh. It fetches a higher market price than green kiwis.
There are 94 recorded species of kiwifruit, but only the following are cultivated for their fruit:
Kiwifruit is commercially grown on sturdy trellises, as it can produce several tonnes per acre. These are generally equipped with a watering system for irrigation and frost protection in the spring.
- Actinidia chinensis, also called Actinidia deliciosa
- Actinidia arguta, Kokuwa or Tara Vine - smaller and with green edible skins
- Actinidia kolomikta, Kolomicta or Arctic Beauty
- Actinidia polygama, Silver Vine
Kiwifruit has male and female plants which are self sterile, so a male pollenizer must be planted for each three to five female vines. An exception is the Issai variety, which can self pollenate but lacks vigour and is not a large producer.
Kiwifruit is notoriously difficult to pollinate because the flowers are not very attractive to bees. Some producers blow collected pollen over the female flowers. But generally the most successful approach is saturation pollination, where the bee populations are made so large (by placing hives in the orchards) that bees are forced to use this flower because of intense competition for all flowers within flight distance.
See also
- List of fruits
External links
- Purdue University NewCROP
- NCBI's taxonomy browser (as of August 1 2002)
- Photos of kiwifruit and alfalfa pollination in California
Food | List of fruits | List of vegetables Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Kiwifruit."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
KIWI | Danish | Videnbaseret brugervenligt system til brug for informationsbaser | Computing |
KIWI | English | Knowledge Based User Friendly System for the Utilisation of Information Bases | N/A |
KIWI | German | Wissensbasiertes benutzerfreundliches System für die Anwendung von Informationsbasen | Computing |
KIWI | Italian | Sistema di facile impiego basato sulle conoscenze per l'utilizzazione di basi d'informazione | Computing |
KIWI | Spanish | Sistema experto fácil de usar para la utilización de bases de información | Computing |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: KiwiSynonyms: apteryx (n), kiwi fruit (n), kiwi vine (n). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Kiwi |
| English words defined with "kiwi": Kiwikiwi. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "kiwi": advanced database environment. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Kiwi" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. French (kiwi, kiwi fruit), German (kiwi), Hungarian (kiwi), Portuguese (Chinese gooseberrry, Chinese gooseberry, kiwi, kiwi fruit, Knowledge-based User-friendly System for the Utilization of Information Bases), Romanian (kiwi), Spanish (kiwi), Swedish (kiwi). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | 4 Play: Kiwi Music (2001) The Great Kiwi Video Show (1996) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References | |||
Books | |||
Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
| ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | (1) color slide shows a bowl of various chunks of fruit including kiwi, strawberry, apple, orange, watermelon, pineapple, white grapes. Credit: Renee Comet (photographer). |  | (3) color slides show a whole kiwi sitting next to a kiwi split in half. Credit: Renee Comet (photographer). |
 | A brown-beige-white plate sits on a sand-colored table. On the plate is cottage cheese, strawberries, kiwi fruit, cantaloupe, orange slices and rasberries. Next to the plate are 2 slices of dark bread and a multicolored napkin and a fork. There is a glass of iced tea in the background with lemon garnish. Credit: Bill Branson (photographer). |  | Destruction of KIWI Nuclear Reactor. Credit: NASA. |
 | Ernst Paschke, NRCS District Conservationist and landowner discuss the production of kiwi, peaches, and walnuts. Landowner farms a total of 100 acres near Yuba City, CA. [Slide 97CS2968]. Credit: Bob Nichols. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Kiwi plays soccer" by Carlos Gustavo Curado Commentary: "New Zealand´s player of soccer!." | "Kiwi fruit 5" by Annette Gulick Commentary: "Kiwi fruits." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | Brazil | Today, imports of pears, grapes, apples, plums, kiwi, peaches and cherries represent approximately 97 percent of total fresh fruit imports. (references) |
Jamaica | Sometemperate climate fruits and vegetable such as apples, pears, broccoli and kiwi fruits will continue positive growth in the Jamaican fresh produce market. (references) | |
Trade | Brazil | Breeder livestock (cattle, swine, sheep, goats, horses and donkeys, including semen and embryos); wine and brandy, distilled spirits (rum, wodka and whiskey); fresh vegetables (asparagus, beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, garlic, lettuce, onions, peppers, potatoes and tomatoes); canned vegetables (asparagus, beans, carrots, corn, peas, tomatoes and tomato paste); frozen vegetables (beans, broccoli, carrots, corn and spinach); peanut butter or peanut flour; dairy products (butter, butter oil, ghee, anhydrous milk fat, non-fat and whole milk powder, whey powder, whey protein concentrate, lactose, non-sweetened condensed milk, fluid milk, lecithin and cheese); ice cream; meat, frozen or chilled (beef, pork and their products);wheat, wheat flour, semolina; cotton, 100% cotton yarn, 100% cotton fabrics (woven and knit unbleached/bleached/dyed, and/or printed); rice; feed grains (barley, including malting barley, white corn, yellow corn, sorghum and oats); corn products (flour, starch, corn meal, popcorn and gluten); pulses(dry beans, peas and lentils), poultry breeder stock (baby chicks, turkey pouts and hatching eggs); eggs and egg products (fresh, dry, refrigerated, frozen, albumin, etc); fresh fruits (apples, apricots, avocados, blueberries, cherries, grapes, grapefruit, kiwi, lemons, melons, nectarines, oranges, pears, plums, peaches, raspberries and tangerines); hops: hops extract; tallow: grease, lard, barley malt; potatoes(cut and chilled or frozen; flakes, granules); peanuts; commercially prepared dog and cat food, animal feed ingredients, fish food; seeds for sowing; almonds ( walnuts, pistachios, hazelnut and pecan); dry fruits, frozen fruits, canned fruits, fruit pure and fruit pulp, 100% natural fruit juice; seafood (fresh and frozen);tomato paste; alfalfa; honey; skins; nutritional beverages preparations (for human consumption); soy protein products; vegetable oils; wood; beer; cereals; preparation for breads and pizzas (powder, refrigerated of frozen); canned pickles; ready-to-eat meals; soft drinks and sodas; soups and sauces. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Kiwi" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.49% of the time. "Kiwi" is used about 198 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.49% | 197 | 21,803 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.51% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 198 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name |
| New Zealand | Kiwi Income Property Trust |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "kiwi": Kiwi fruit ♦ kiwi vine. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "kiwi": kiwi-fruit, kiwi-led. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
kiwi | 1,098 | kiwi new zealand | 19 |
kiwi fruit | 143 | growing kiwi | 18 |
kiwi bird | 123 | kiwi trailer | 17 |
kiwi syslog | 85 | kiwi porn | 17 |
jayco kiwi | 56 | camper kiwi | 17 |
kiwi shoes polish | 50 | kiwi porn star | 17 |
agriculture kiwi | 41 | bird kiwi picture | 16 |
kiwi career | 38 | kiwi snapple strawberry | 16 |
kiwi airline | 37 | kiwi recipe | 16 |
kiwi plant | 33 | kiwi experience | 15 |
kiwi kayak | 28 | actinidia deliciosa kiwi | 13 |
kiwi find | 26 | kiwi hair product | 13 |
kiwi olsen | 26 | kiwi seller | 13 |
kiwi picture | 26 | kiwi tree | 11 |
company kiwi list | 26 | box kiwi | 11 |
kiwi bingo | 22 | kiwi shoes | 11 |
kiwi trailer travel | 22 | kiwi polish | 11 |
importer kiwi | 22 | hardy kiwi | 11 |
carpet cleaning kiwi | 20 | kiwi brand | 11 |
kiwi vine | 19 | helmet kiwi | 10 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "kiwi"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | kivi. (various references) | |
Arabic | الكيوي طائر نيوزلندي, الكيوى نوع من الفاكهة. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | служещ от нелетящия състав, киви (kiwifruit), новозеландец. (various references) | |
Chinese | 猕猴桃. (various references) | |
Czech | kivi. (various references) | |
Danish | kiwi (Chinese gooseberrry, Chinese gooseberry, kiwi fruit, Knowledge-based User-friendly System for the Utilization of Information Bases), kivi (Chinese gooseberrry, Chinese gooseberry, kiwi fruit), videnbaseret brugervenligt system til brug for informationsbaser (Knowledge-based User-friendly System for the Utilization of Information Bases). (various references) | |
Dutch | kiwi (Chinese gooseberrry, Chinese gooseberry, kiwi fruit, Knowledge-based User-friendly System for the Utilization of Information Bases). (various references) | |
Finnish | KIWI (Knowledge-based User-friendly System for the Utilization of Information Bases). (various references) | |
French | kiwi (kiwi fruit). (various references) | |
German | kiwi (Chinese gooseberrry, Chinese gooseberry, kiwi fruit, Knowledge-based User-friendly System for the Utilization of Information Bases). (various references) | |
Greek | ακτινίδιο, απτέρυξ, αεροπόροσ μη ιπτάμενοσ. (various references) | |
Hungarian | kiwimadár új-zélandban, kiwi, új-zélandi ember. (various references) | |
Italian | kiwi (Chinese gooseberrry, Chinese gooseberry, kiwi fruit, Knowledge-based User-friendly System for the Utilization of Information Bases), kivi, actinidia (Chinese gooseberrry, Chinese gooseberry, kiwi fruit). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | キー入力 (ATM card, automatic teller machine, birch sugar, cache, cash, cash card, cash machine, cashbook, cashbox, cashier, cashless, cashless checkless society, cashless society, casserole, cast, caster, Castilian, casting, casting vote, caterpillar, Cathay, chimera, chinoform, Cicero, flexi-teller, hickey, key, kibbutz, kick, kickback, kickboxing, kickoff, kid, kiddie, kiddy, kids business, kimchee, kinesics, kinesiology, kinetic art, kiosk, kip, kiss, kiss-and-ride system, kit, kitchen, kitchen cabinet, kitchen drinker, kitchen programmer, kitchenware, Kitchin cycle, Kitsch, kiwi fruit, Korean pickled cabbage, kymograph, lipstick mark, love bite, newscaster, passion mark, quinine, xenon, Xenon arc lamp, Xenon lamp, xylitol), ガ行 (buzzword, catch phrase, Classification for Japanese verb with the dictionary form ending in "gu", keel, keep, keeper, keno, key, key advisor, key chain, key club, key currency, key holder, key industry, key market, key point, key punch, key station, keyboard, keyhole, keyhole journalism, keyman, key-map, keynote, keypad, keypuncher, keystone, keystone combination, key-stroke, keysym, key-symbol, key-touch, keyword, kiwi fruit, reference sample, the key). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | キーウィ (kiwi fruit), キウイ . (various references) | |
Manx | keewee, fer ass Sealynn Noa (New Zealander). (various references) | |
Maori | kuihipere (kiwi fruit). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | iwikay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | kiwi (Chinese gooseberrry, Chinese gooseberry, kiwi fruit, Knowledge-based User-friendly System for the Utilization of Information Bases). (various references) | |
Romanian | kiwi. (various references) | |
Russian | киви. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | kivi, pilot kukavica. (various references) | |
Spanish | kiwi (Chinese gooseberrry, Chinese gooseberry, kiwi fruit, Knowledge-based User-friendly System for the Utilization of Information Bases). (various references) | |
Swedish | kiwi (Knowledge-based User-friendly System for the Utilization of Information Bases). (various references) | |
Thai | นกกีวี. (various references) | |
Turkish | kivi kuşu, kivi, yeni zelandalı. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | ківі (apteryx). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | Actinidia chinensis. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "kiwi": kiwifruit, kiwifruits, kiwis. (additional references) | |
| |
"Kiwi" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Akawi, cixi, Ikimi, iswi, iwi, Kaw, Kawa, kawain, Kawaz, kawe, kedi, kewi, kewk, kewl, kewt, kibi, Kibir, kiew, Kijik, kiki, kili, Kilwa, kimi, kini, kipi, kiri, kirie, kiti, kiw, knwi, koji, kow, Kowa, kowk, kui, kwia, kwii, kwit, Kywe, Ukwimi. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words containing the letters "i-i-k-w" | |
+1 letter: kiwis. | |
+2 letters: wakiki, wikiup. | |
+3 letters: wakikis, wicking, wickiup, wiglike, wikiups, winking. | |
+4 letters: likewise, pickwick, swinking, twiglike, waiflike, whiplike, whiskies, whisking, wickings, wickiups, wifelike, wineskin, winglike, winkling, wirelike, wisplike, wricking. | |
+5 letters: bailiwick, kittiwake, kiwifruit, pickwicks, twinkling, wineskins, witchlike, wrinklier, wrinkling. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Usage Frequency 11. Names: Company Usage 12. Expressions | 13. Expressions: Internet 14. Translations: Modern 15. Translations: Ancient 16. Abbreviations | 17. Acronyms 18. Derivations 19. Anagrams 20. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
