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Passifloraceae FAMILY

Passiflora edulis flavicarpa

Passiflora edulis flavicarpa

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitClimber
Growth—

This form of Passiflora edulis is more of a tropical plant than the species and grows successfully at low elevations in tropical areas[1, 2]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 30°c, but can tolerate 18 - 34°c[3]. When dormant, the mature plant can survive temperatures down to about -2°c, but young growth cannot tolerate any frost[3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 900 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 600 - 2,500mm[3]. 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[4, 5]. Passiflora species tend to flower and fruit more freely when grown in soils of only moderate fertility[6]. 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[3]. Prefers a position sheltered from cold winds[3]. This form of Passiflora edulis has escaped from cultivation but, unlike the species, has not proved to be so invasive at present[7] There are two distinct forms of this species:- Passiflora edulis edulis is the type species. It has purple fruits and occurs in cooler regions and at higher altitudes in the tropics. See separate entry for more information. Passiflora edulis flavicarpa is the form dealt with in this entry. It is larger in all its parts, including its yellow fruits. It grows successfully in the tropical lowlands[2]. There are some named varieties of each form and also commercial cultivars developed by hybridizing the two forms[8, 9, 6, 10, 2]. A fast-growing plant, seedlings can commence fruiting within 12 - 24 months from germination, whilst cuttings can start fruiting in the same year[11]. Plants have a commercially economic lifespan of 3 - 6 years[3]. Two crops a year are normally produced[3]. Average annual yield of fruit may be about 8 - 15 tonnes per hectare, but yields up to 50 tonnes have been reported from Kenya[3]. A shallow-rooted plant[3]. 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[6]. The species is self-fertile, though some of its forms, such as Flavicarpa, require cross-pollination[1]. Plants are very tolerant of pruning and can be cut back to ground level if required to rejuvenate the plant[12]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[6].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe along with the pulp which will help break down the seed coat and speed up germination[1]. Stored seed should be soaked for 24 hours in warm water and germination time can be reduced if the seed is then mixed with the juice of a fresh passion fruit (of any species)[1]. Even so, it can take 12 months for stored seed to germinate[1]. Place the seed tray in a shady position, maintaining a temperature around 19 - 24°c[1]. Prick the seedlings out into individual containers as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant out when large enough[1]. Cuttings of young shoots, taken at the nodes. The cuttings root best in a neutral to slightly acid compost, but 100% sharp sand also produces good results[1]. Cuttings of fully mature wood taken at a node. They can take 3 months, but there is usually a high percentage[5]. Layering. Very easy[1]. Air layering. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Passiflora+edulis+flavicarpa>

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]Passifloraceae — MacDougal J.M. · 2011 ↩︎
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]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 ]).
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]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.
  7. [7]Invasive Species Compendium — http://www.cabi.org ↩︎An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc).
  8. [8]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.
  9. [9]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.
  10. [10]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.
  11. [11]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.
  12. [12]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.
  13. [13]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.
  14. [14]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.
  15. [15]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.
  16. [16]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  17. [17]Trade Winds Fruit — http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/index.htm ↩︎The on-line catalogue of a company selling seeds. Gives descriptions, photos and uses of a very wide range of fruit and other food-producing plants plus ornamentals.
  18. [18]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
  19. [19]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.
  20. [20]Vitamin C content of commonly eaten green leafy vegetables in fresh and under different storage conditions — Umaramani M. & Sivakanesan R. · 2015 · ISBN 2349 - 1183 ↩︎
  21. [21]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.
  22. [22]Passifloraceae do Brasil. Estudo do gênero Passiflora L., subgênero Passiflora — Cervi A.C. · 1997 · ISBN 0212-0623 ↩︎
  23. [23]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.
  24. [24]CosIng — http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/ ↩︎CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.
  25. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎