China’s Kiwi relative recorded in Arunachal, new addition to India's flora

Guwahati:  A wild relative of the kiwi fruit, previously known only from China and northern Myanmar, has been recorded in India for the first time from Arunachal Pradesh, adding a new species to the country’s flora and highlighting the ecological links between the Eastern Himalaya and East Asia.

The discovery of Actinidia eriantha was made in the Ziro Valley of Lower Subansiri district and has been documented by Gyati Yam and Joynath Pegu of Nagaland University, along with Om Prakash Tripathi of Mizoram University, in a study published in the journal Feddes Repertorium.

Actinidia is a small genus of around 55 species, largely distributed across the temperate regions of East Asia, with China recognised as its main centre of diversity. Members of the genus are woody climbers or shrubs best known for their edible fruits, commonly called kiwi. In India, only three species of Actinidia were previously known, occurring mainly in the Eastern Himalaya and Northeast India.

Until now, A. eriantha was known from central and southern China—including Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Yunnan—as well as northern Myanmar. The species typically inhabits mixed evergreen broad-leaved forests, forest margins, and thickets, across elevations ranging from 300 to 2,500 metres.

During floristic surveys conducted in 2025, the researchers recorded the species growing on moist, semi-shaded forest slopes in Ziro Valley at an elevation of about 2,014 metres above sea level. Field observations revealed a sparse and highly localised population, with only 8–12 individuals found, climbing over small trees and shrubs along forest edges.

In their study, the authors note that the finding “underscores the strong floristic affinity between the Eastern Himalaya and the mountains of southwestern China”, a biogeographical relationship often reflected in shared plant species across the two regions. They add that the limited population size suggests a restricted local distribution, underscoring the need for further botanical exploration in neighbouring valleys.

The plant is distinguished by its pinkish-white, fragrant flowers and hairy, ellipsoid fruits, with flowering and fruiting observed between April and October, indicating successful reproduction in Indian conditions.

The researchers say that additional surveys could reveal more populations, helping clarify the species’ ecological range and conservation status in India. The discovery also reinforces the importance of the Eastern Himalaya—part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot—as one of India’s least explored but most significant regions for plant diversity.