ACTINIDIA 163 



of the size and shape of a walnut, covered more or less with reddish brown 

 hairs, and of a very agreeable flavour. 



This remarkably handsome climber was first brought to the notice of 

 Europeans by Robert Fortune in 1847, when he was travelling in China on 

 behalf of the Royal Horticultural Society. It was later seen by Maries in 

 Japan, but did not reach cultivation until 1900, when seeds were sent from 

 China by Wilson, who had collected it in Hupeh. It is evidently hardy, and 

 flowered for the first time in England in June 1909. 



A. HENRYI, Dunn. 



A tall climber with slightly ribbed young shoots, covered with stout, curly, 

 reddish bristles. Leaves ovate or ovate-oblong, heart-shaped or rounded at the 

 base, taper-pointed, minutely toothed, 3 to 5 ins. long, i^ to 2^ ins. wide ; 

 glaucous beneath, with a little down on the midrib and veins. The year-old 

 wood smooth. Leaf-stalk f to \\ ins. long, bristly when young. Flowers 

 white, nearly \ in. diameter, produced in the leaf-axils in short, rounded 

 racemes, the stout main-stalk reddish bristly, the slender individual flower- 

 stalks downy, \ to in. long. Fruits cylindrical, f to I in. long, \ to ^ in. wide. 



Native of Yunnan, in mountain forests at 5000 to 6000 ft. ; discovered by 

 Henry ; introduced by Wilson for the Arnold Arboretum, and sent thence to 

 Kew in 1910. Of perhaps doubtful hardiness. 



A. KOLOMIKTA, Maximowicz. 



A slender climber, growing a few feet high. Leaves ovate-oblong, heart- 

 shaped or sometimes rounded at the base, 3 to 6 ins. long, the largest 3 to 4 

 ins. wide ; only slightly bristly above and beneath when quite young, the 

 margins set with teeth . of unequal size. The foliage is purplish when young, 

 and later in the season is usually more or less variegated, sometimes the apex, 

 sometimes half the leaf, and occasionally the whole leaf being white or pink. 

 Flowers fragrant, produced one to three together, each ^ in. across ; petals white, 

 anthers yellow, stigmas sessile. Fruit not beaked. The chief merit of this 

 climber is in its curious and often very striking leaf-colouring. It is, perhaps, 

 the weakest grower of all the Actinidias, and supports about 6 ft. high are 

 sufficient. The pith is brown and chambered (lamellate). Native of Man- 

 churia, China, and Japan, flowering in June. Its veins beneath and the leaf-stalk 

 are slightly downy, but not so conspicuously bristly as in A. polygama (q.v.). 



A. POLYGAMA, Miguel. 



A slender climber, forming in a wild state a large tangle of entwined stems 

 15 to 20 ft. high. Leaves elliptical or ovate-oblong, pointed, 3 to 5 ins. long, 

 bristly toothed on the margin, and bristly on the veins, usually wedge-shaped, 

 sometimes somewhat heart-shaped at the base ; stalks bristly. Flowers 

 fragrant, usually in threes (sometimes single or in pairs), | in. diameter, white. 

 Fruit beaked, i^ ins. long, in. broad in the middle, narrowing at either end, 

 canary yellow, translucent, soft and juicy, with a disagreeable flavour. 



Native of Central Japan, and plentiful in the mountains there. As in 

 A. Kolomikta, sometimes the entire leaf, sometimes its terminal half, is white 

 or yellowish, but it is a stronger grower. It is not, however, a tall climber 

 like A. arguta and A. chinensis, but may be grown as a sort of thicket, if 

 support be given at first. It is confused often with A. Kolomikta, but differs 

 in the usually tapered or rounded (instead of cordate) base of the leaf, in its 

 white, solid (not chambered) pith, and in having the stigma on a short thick style. 

 The plant, like several other species, has an extraordinary attraction for cats. 



