Actinidia arguta, the hardy kiwi, is a perennial vine native to Japan, Korea, Northern China, and the Russian Far East. It produces a small kiwi fruit without the hair-like fiber covering the outside, unlike most other species of the genus.
The fruit is referred to as the arctic kiwi, baby kiwi, cocktail kiwi, dessert kiwi, grape kiwi, hardy kiwifruit, kiwi berry, northern kiwi, Siberian gooseberry, or Siberian kiwi, and is an edible, berry- or grape-sized fruit similar to kiwifruit in taste and appearance, but is green, brownish, or purple with smooth skin, sometimes with a red blush. Often sweeter than the kiwifruit, hardy kiwifruit can be eaten whole and do not need to be peeled. Thin-walled, its exterior is smooth and leathery.
