The fruit is not endemic; the name was dreamed up in the 1950s. The first kiwi fruit climbers in New Zealand were imported from the Yangtze Valley in China and grown as ornamental garden vines. It was only in the 1940s that attempts were made to grow them commercially. The industry grew very slowly at first, but New Zealand now produces about two-thirds of the world's kiwi fruits.
The skins of kiwi fruits are used by inventive New Zealand outdoor types to fix bicycle punctures, and the discarded skins are often collected and sewn together to form pillowcases.