A Spartan fruit finds a home in the Beal Botanical Garden

It started with an email. Then came the story. And now, thanks in large part to a Spartan alum who wants the world to know about a fruit he loves and cultivates, there are Michigan State kiwi vines in the Beal Botanical Garden.

On a hot July day, Robert Williams, a Spartan who earned his doctorate in anthropology from Michigan State University in 1980, arrived in East Lansing with multiple Michigan State kiwi vines and delivered them to Katie Fry, the collections manager for the Beal Botanical Garden on campus. Those vines are planted in the garden now, ready to grow along with the thousands of other plant species living on campus.

Williams lives in Washington state, where he owns and operates Broken Shovel Kiwi Farm. There, he grows nine varieties of hardy kiwi, which have adapted to survive in harsher climates than the more common fuzzy kiwis found in grocery stores. One of those varieties is the Michigan State kiwi, a hardy kiwi cultivar that got its name after it was discovered growing on campus. Though it wasn’t developed by MSU researchers, the plant’s association with the university gave it a name that stuck. Williams is perhaps the fruit’s biggest fan, and the plant hadn’t been seen on campus for decades.

“Have you heard of Johnny Appleseed?” he asked days before his trip to Michigan and the Beal Botanical Garden. “I think he was a better businessperson than me, because I sure want more people to know about this hardy kiwi.”

From an email to a plant in the ground

Back in 2023, Williams emailed the editors at MSUToday: “Here I am in Washington wondering, when Michigan’s climate and soil is a good match for these plants, why I don’t hear of anyone growing or talking about these amazing plants in Michigan. Or, more specifically, at MSU.”

That email led to a gripping story that unearthed the roots of the Michigan State kiwi. As it turns out, the plant may have originally hailed from the Netherlands, but its strong ties to MSU gave it its name. In the 1980s, it was found growing outside of a window well at the historic MSU Herbarium, which has more than a half million specimens, including entries from the famous MSU botanist William James Beal himself. Unfortunately, those vines are no longer on campus, seemingly removed during renovations during the 1980s and ’90s.

Thanks to Williams, however, they are back after about 40 years.

Williams traveled to Michigan with his wife to visit friends this July. Before coming to campus, he made a stop at Hartmann’s Plant Company in Grand Junction, Michigan, on the west side of the state. They had some verified authentic Michigan State kiwi plants for him.

He packed them up and drove to East Lansing, where, on a warm day, he sat at a table in the shade next to a shed in the Beal Botanical Garden and handed out samples of his Michigan State kiwi jam and salsa while waxing poetic about the nutrition and taste of the fruit. Like their fuzzy, store-bought cousins, hardy kiwis are good sources of fiber, antioxidants and vitamins C and E. The Michigan State kiwi is fuzz-free — it looks like a big green grape — meaning you can eat it whole and not lose any nutrients through peeling. The jam was sweet and delicious, and the salsa had a savory, spicy jolt.

As Williams said in our 2023 story: “I’m probably marketing in the wrong direction. I blab on about nutrition, but what people really care about is what tastes good. And when people taste the kiwi, the most common reaction is to say ‘wow’ and buy a basket.”

Just as Williams helped bring the Michigan State kiwi to the Beal Botanical Garden, members of the public can suggest plants for inclusion, too. Fry, the collections manager, said the garden is committed to collections that serve the community and provide space for public input. If there is a plant you’d like to see added, you’re invited to submit a suggestion through the Plant Proposal Form.

For Fry, input from the community is essential to keeping the garden relevant and authentic. “The Michigan State kiwi is special because it is a part of our campus history,” Fry said, “and having this plant in our garden keeps the story alive.”

Plus, thanks to Williams, more people will learn about the tasty and nutritious — and uniquely Spartan — fruit.