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Passiflora edulis
Passifloraceae FAMILY

Passiflora edulis

Passiflora edulis

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Climber
GrowthFast

Passiflora edulis is native to subtropical regions of S. America and is also cultivated at higher elevations in more tropical areas[1]. It can be grown between sea level and 900 metres in the subtropics, and from 900 - 2,000 metres or even higher in the tropics[2]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 30°c, but can tolerate 18 - 34°c[2]. When dormant, the mature plant can survive temperatures down to about -2°c, but young growth cannot tolerate any frost[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 900 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 600 - 2,500mm[2]. Top growth is not very frost tolerant, though plants can be grown outdoors in the warmest areas of the temperate zone if the soil is prevented from freezing[3]. Although the plants are cut down to the ground by frost, the roots will usually survuve and the plants can regenerate from the base in the spring[4]. There is also the possibility of growing plants on rootstocks of Passiflora caerulea which might make them hardier[4]. The fruit can be freely produced in warm temperate regions in hot summers[5]. Requires a humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil and a position in dappled shade[1]. Requires a well-drained soil with plenty of moisture in the growing season, otherwise it is not fussy[6, 7]. Passiflora species tend to flower and fruit more freely when grown in soils of only moderate fertility[4]. Prefers a circumneutral soil, disliking very acid or very alkaline conditions[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 8, tolerating 5.5 - 8.5[2]. Prefers a position sheltered from cold winds[2]. Passiflora edulis is widely cultivated for its edible fruit from the warm temperate zone to higher elevations in the tropics. There are two distinct forms of this species:- Passiflora edulis edulis is the type species and is the form treated in this entry. It has purple fruits and occurs in cooler regions and at higher elevations in the tropics. Passiflora edulis flavicarpa has yellow fruits and is larger in all its parts, including the fruit. It grows successfully in the tropical lowlands. See separate entry for more information on this form[8]. There are some named varieties of each form and also commercial cultivars developed by hybridizing the two forms[9, 10, 4, 11, 8]. A fast-growing plant, seedlings can commence fruiting within 12 - 24 months from germination, whilst cuttings can start fruiting in the same year[12]. Plants have a commercially economic lifespan of 3 - 6 years[2]. Two crops a year are normally produced[2]. Average annual yield of fruit may be about 8 - 15 tonnes per hectare, but yields up to 50 tonnes have been reported from Kenya[2]. A shallow-rooted plant[2]. Flowers shed their pollen before the pistils are receptive and so plants need another cultivar flowering at a slightly different time in order to fertilize the flowers[4]. The species is self-fertile, though some of its forms, such as Flavicarpa, require cross-pollination[1, 8]. Plants are very tolerant of pruning and can be cut back to ground level if required in order to rejuvenate the plant[13]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[4].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and then sow late winter or early spring in a warm greenhouse. If sown in January and grown on fast it can flower and fruit in its first year[3]. The seed germinates in 1 - 12 months at 20°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. It you are intending to grow the plants outdoors, it is probably best to keep them in the greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Mulch the roots well in late autumn to protect them from the cold. Cuttings of young shoots, 15cm with a heel, in spring[6]. Leaf bud cuttings in spring. Cuttings of fully mature wood in early summer. Takes 3 months. High percentage[7]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Passiflora+edulis>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]Passion Flowers — Vanderplank. J. · Cassell. London. · 1991 · ISBN 0-304-34076-6 ↩︎An excellent book on passion flowers, giving information on hardy species and how to grow the less hardy in greenhouses etc. A bit lacking at times on specific information on hardyness. Excellent photographs.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]The Garden. Volume 112. — RHS. · Royal Horticultural Society · 1987 · ISBN - ↩︎Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS. In particular, there are articles on plants that are resistant to honey fungus, oriental vegetables, Cimicifuga spp, Passiflora species and Cucurbits.
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  5. [5]The Milder Garden. — Taylor. J. · Dent · 1990 ↩︎A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.
  6. [6]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  7. [7]Growing Unusual Fruit. — Simmons. A. E. · David & Charles; Newton Abbot. · 1972 · ISBN 0-7153-5531-7 ↩︎A very readable book with information on about 100 species that can be grown in Britain (some in greenhouses) and details on how to grow and use them.
  8. [8]Passifloraceae — MacDougal J.M. · 2011 ↩︎
  9. [9]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  11. [11]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  12. [12]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
  13. [13]Climbers and Wall Shrubs. — Davis. B. · Viking. · 1990 · ISBN 0-670-82929-3 ↩︎Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.
  14. [14]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  15. [15]Flora of New South Wales — http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/floraonline.htm ↩︎An on-line resource giving a brief botanical description of all the native plants of New South Wales, their habitat and range, together with diagrams and photographs of the plants.
  16. [16]Global Invasive Species Database — http://www.issg.org/database/welcome/ ↩︎Very detailed information on almost 400 species (with more being added) of plants that have become weeds in areas outside their native range.
  17. [17]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  18. [18]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  19. [19]Economic Botany. — Hill. A. F. · The Maple Press · 1952 · ISBN - ↩︎Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.
  20. [20]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  21. [21]Food Plants in the Americas: A Survey of the Domesticated, Cultivated, and Wild Plants Used for Human Food in North, — Kermath B.M.; Bennett B.C.' Pulsipher L.M. · 2014 ↩︎A pre-publication draft of an amazing, on-going work first started in 1985. It contains information on more than 3,900 taxa from the Americas - from Arctic regions to the Tropics
  22. [22]Traditional Vegetables in Benin — Achigan-Dako E. Et al · Darwin Initiative; International Foundation for Science · 2009 ↩︎Issued as a PDF on the Internet, it contains basic information on over 250 species of plants used for food in Benin.
  23. [23]Vitamin C content of commonly eaten green leafy vegetables in fresh and under different storage conditions — Umaramani M. & Sivakanesan R. · 2015 · ISBN 2349 - 1183 ↩︎
  24. [24]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
  25. [25]Passifloraceae do Brasil. Estudo do gênero Passiflora L., subgênero Passiflora — Cervi A.C. · 1997 · ISBN 0212-0623 ↩︎
  26. [26]Dicionário das Plantas Úteis do Basil e das Exóticas Cultivadas Vol. 5 — Corrêa M. Pio & Penna L. de Azeredo · Ministério da Agricultura; Rio de Janeiro · 1978 ↩︎A massive work in six volumes, first published in the 1920's and revised in the 1970's. Written in Portuguese.
  27. [27]CosIng — http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/ ↩︎CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.
  28. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎