Even though “kiwi” is slang for
someone from New Zealand, the
kiwifruit is actually native to China.
It’s been so important to Chinese
culture, in fact, that it is still the
country’s national fruit. From China,
the fruit was introduced into New
Zealand in the early 1900s. Although
the Chinese name is “yang tao,” New
Zealanders soon dubbed the fruit
“Chinese gooseberry.”