Passiflora edulis

Passiflora edulis is a plant that people call passion fruit. It is a vine, which means it grows along the ground or climbs up other plants and structures. It is part of the passion flower family. It first grew wild in southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina.

The fruit is a pepo, a kind of botanical berry. It is round or oval. When ripe, it can be yellow or dark purple. Inside, it has a juicy part that is soft to firm and holds many seeds.

People grow this plant for sale in warm areas, including tropical and subtropical places. People enjoy the its sweet, seedy fruit by eating it or drinking its juice. Its juice is often mixed into other fruit juices to make them smell stronger and nicer.

Etymology

The passion fruit is named after one of the many species of passion flower. "Passion flower" is the English translation of the Latin genus name, Passiflora.

Around 1700, missionaries in Brazil gave the plant its name to help teach Indigenous people about Christianity. They called it flor das cinco chagas, which means "flower of the five wounds." The name was meant to point to the crucifixion of Christ. Other parts of the plant were also named after a symbol from the Passion of Jesus.

Description

Passiflora edulis is a perennial vine. Its young tendrils grow from axils and are red or purple. There are two main kinds. One has purple fruit, called P. edulis f. edulis. The other has yellow fruit, called P. edulis f. flavicarpa. Each node usually has one flower, about 5 to 7.5 cm wide. The flower has five green sepals and five white petals that look like a fringe. In the center are five stamens, an ovary, and a branched style with stigmas on top. The fruit is a round or oval berry. Its skin is dark purple or light yellow. The fruit is 4 to 7.5 cm across and has a tough rind with a thick layer of pith. Inside, there are usually about 250 brown seeds. Each seed is covered in juicy pulp. The taste is a bit like the guava fruit.

Many kinds of passion fruit contain a lot of polyphenol. Yellow kinds were found to have prunasin and other cyanogenic glycosides in the peel and juice. The bright yellow flavicarpa kind is also called yellow or golden passion fruit. It can grow as big as a grapefruit. In Australia, it has been used as a rootstock for purple passion fruit. The dark purple edulis kind is smaller than a lemon. It is less sour than the yellow kind. It also has a richer smell and sweeter pulp.

Distribution and habitat

Passion fruit plants first grew naturally in the southern part of Brazil, across Paraguay, and into the northern part of Argentina.

Cultivation

Passion fruit grows well in semitropical and tropical areas around the world. In the United States, it grows in Florida, Hawaii, and California. It usually needs to be protected from frost, although some types have survived light frosts when damaged parts were cut back heavily. The flower of the yellow-fruited plant is self-sterile, while the flower of the purple-fruited plant is self-compatible. In California, pollination works best when the carpenter bee does it. Some gardeners put old logs near the vines to give these bees a place to shelter.

Passion fruit plants can get many diseases. Passion fruit woodiness virus belongs to the Potyvirus group. It makes leaves turn yellow and fruit small, hard, and cracked. Sap-sucking insects like aphids and mites spread it, and it can also spread on infected cuttings or tools. Once a plant has this virus, there is no chemical that can treat it. The cucumber mosaic virus causes yellow spots and twisted, curled leaves. Aphids spread this virus too. Phytoplasma is a special kind of bacterium that attacks the phloem, the part of a plant that carries food. It causes chlorotic small leaves, shorter internodes, extra shoots, and odd flowers. It can spread through grafting. It responds to tetracycline, a common broad-spectrum antibiotic. Bacterial leaf spot causes vein clearing, bright yellow colonies, wilting leaves, and fruit pulp that breaks down. Fertilizers or a mix of copper chloride and mancozeb can slow it down, but they do not cure it. The bacterium Pseudomonas syringae causes greasy-looking spots on leaves and affects the stomata, the tiny openings on leaves. Fungicide treatments can help prevent further infection. Collar rot is caused by the fungus Fusarium solani. It makes the stem brown at soil level, and the plant can wither. Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum, blocks the xylem, so water and nutrients cannot move through the plant. Finally, anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporiodes, creates dark, sunken spots on the trunk. These spots can cause leaves to fall off and fruit to rot.

Uses

Raw passion fruit is mostly water, about 73%. It has 22% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and 0.7% fat. A 100 g (3.5 oz) serving has 97 calories. It is a rich source of vitamin C, with 33% of the Daily Value (DV). It is also a moderate source of riboflavin and potassium. It does not have other micronutrients in large amounts.

People enjoy passion fruit whole and as juice. It is used in many different ways around the world. In Australia and New Zealand, it is sold fresh and tinned. It is added to fruit salads and used in desserts such as pavlova, a regional meringue cake, ice cream, cheesecake, and the icing of vanilla slices. A passion-fruit soft drink called Passiona has been made in Australia since the 1920s. In Brazil, passion fruit is common in passion fruit mousse, juice, and ice pops. It can also replace lime in a caipirinha. In Hawaii, where it is called lilikoʻi, the pulp is eaten fresh. The syrup is used on shave ice, in malasadas, and in jam. Other countries have their own uses too. These include wine in Cambodia, juices and desserts in Colombia and Costa Rica, and syrup on shaved ice in the Dominican Republic. People in East Africa drink it as juice, and in Peru it is made into ice pops and ceviche dishes. Passion fruit is also sold in public markets in the Philippines. It is used for liqueurs in Portugal and in Puerto Rico. In South Africa, it is known as granadilla and used in yogurt, drinks, and cordial drinks. In Sri Lanka, its juice is a common refreshment.

In culture

In 1884, the English painter Frank Dicksee painted Romeo and Juliet. The painting shows a passion fruit vine growing up a Solomonic column, even though this did not match the time the story is set in. The painting today belongs to the Southampton City Art Gallery in the United Kingdom.

In 2006, singer-songwriter Paula Fuga released the popular song "Lilikoi." Lilikoi is the Hawaiian language word for passion fruit. The song is included on an album that is also named after the fruit.