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Hardy kiwi produces smaller fruits than the tropical kiwi, without hairy skins. The male plants are sometimes planted as an ornamental, as it is a fast-growing vine which can have showy foliage (only some varieties) and produces fragrant spring blooms. It is much hardier to cold winters than other kiwi types. A male and a female plant are both needed in order to get fruit.

The leaves of this plant are the herb cilantro, popular in Mexican cuisine, and the seeds are the spice coriander, used to spice curries and many other dishes.

Source of the organic insecticide pyrethrum, on which the synthetic pyrethrin insecticides are based. This plant is said to deter many insect pests when interplanted among vulnerable plants.

Used as a sweetener, especially for beverages. Bruised fresh leaves can be added to tea leaves before steeping, or leaves (bruised or dried and crushed) can be steeped in alcohol (vodka works well) for several days to extract the sweet component (steviol glycoside). This extract can then be used in beverages or anything else that needs sweetening. Stevia extract is heat-stable, so it can be cooked with, but because it has much less bulk than sugar, recipes need to be adjusted to bake with it.