Actinidia tetramera Maxim.

Climbing shrubs, mid-sized, deciduous. Branchlets grayish to reddish, glabrous, lenticels conspicuous; pith brown, lamellate. Petiole 1.2-3.5 cm, glabrous or sparsely setose; leaf blade oblong-ovate to oblong-elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, 4-8 × 2-4 cm, thinly papery, abaxially glabrous to slightly strigillose on midvein, always very conspicuously white barbate at axils of lateral veins, adaxially glabrous to sparsely strigillose on midvein and lateral veins, midvein and lateral veins subconspicuous to conspicuous on both surfaces, lateral veins 6 or 7 pairs, veinlets reticulate, inconspicuous, base narrowly cuneate-rounded to rounded or truncate, usually oblique, margin serrulate, apex long acuminate. Inflorescences 1-flowered, rarely 2- or 3-flowered cymes; pedicels 1.5-2.2 cm, glabrous; bracts linear, minute. Flowers somewhat pinkish white. Sepals 4(or 5), oblong-ovate, 4-5 mm, glabrous. Petals 4(or 5), obovate, 7-10 mm. Filaments ca. 4 mm; anthers yellow, oblong, ca. 1.5 mm, both ends rounded. Ovary cylindric to slightly bottle-shaped, ca. 3.5 mm, glabrous; styles ca. 4 mm. Fruit orange when mature, ovoid, 1.5-2 cm, glabrous, lenticels absent; persistent sepals reflexed. Seeds ca. 2.5 mm. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Sep. 2n = 58*.

Chongqing, Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan.

● Mountain forests, thickets, moist places; 1100-2700 m.

Actinidia tetramera var. badongensis C. F. Liang; Clematoclethra giraldii Diels.

Actinidia tetramera (四萼猕猴桃 si e mi hou tao) is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Actinidiaceae, that is native to Central China. It is a vigorous climber that can reach 8 m (26 ft) tall and broad. The ovate leaves are dark green with bright white flashes on the surface. The species is dioecious, meaning that male and female plants are separate. Fruit is only borne on a fertilised female plant.

This plant is valued in cultivation for its ornamental qualities. It prefers a sheltered spot in sun or partial shade. In the UK, the variety A. tetramera var. maloides has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.