Flower Development of the Chinese Gooseberry (Actinidia chinensisPlanch.)

Abstract

The development of flowering shoots of Chinese gooseberry (Actinidia chinensis Planch.) cultivar ‘Hayward’ (pistillate) and clone ‘Alpha’ (staminate) is described. The flowering shoots arise from buds developed in leaf axils of the previous season's shoots. These buds are first apparent at the time of bud burst and are only formed in leaf axils distal to flower-bearing axils. Within these buds up to 19–22 leaf primordia are rapidly laid down in a spiral sequence before midsummer and by winter they contain numbers of bud scales, transitional leaves, and leaf primordia. These buds burst and resume growth in the following spring (late September) and the shoot grows rapidly for at least 30 days. There is a pattern in the rate of growth and size and shape of each leaf along the shoot.