Passiflora edulis
| Passiflora edulis | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 10 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 30' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Passiflora edulis (common name: passion flower)
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[1]. 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[2].
Leaf bud cuttings in spring.
Cuttings of fully mature wood in early summer. Takes 3 months. High percentage[3].
Cultivation: Requires a well-drained soil with plenty of moisture in the growing season, otherwise it is not fussy[2][3].
Plants are not very frost tolerant and are best grown in a greenhouse[3]. However, the roots are somewhat hardier and can survive the winter outdoors in many areas of Britain if the soil is prevented from freezing[1]. If plants are cut down to the ground by frost they can regenerate from the base[4]. There is also the possibility of growing plants on rootstocks of P. caerulea which might make them hardier[4].
This species is often cultivated in warmer climes than Britain for its edible fruit, there are some named varieties[5][6]. The fruit can be freely produced in Britain in hot summers[7].
Roots of outdoor grown plants should be restricted to encourage fruiting[2].
Any pruning is best carried out in the spring[8].
If fruit is required it is best to hand pollinate, using pollen from a flower that has been open for 12 hours to pollinate a newly opened flower before midday[1][4]. The flowers open in sunny weather and do not open on dull cloudy days[8]. The flowers have the scent of heliotropes[9].
A climbing plant, attaching itself to other plants by means of tendrils that are produced at the leaf axils.
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[4].
Range: S. America - Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina.
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked. An agreeable cooling taste[10][3][5][11], somewhat like an orange with a mixture of acid[12]. The ripe aromatic fruit is allowed to wrinkle and develop sweetness, it is then eaten raw, juiced, made into a syrup or used in sauces, cakes etc[6]. The fruit is about 5cm in diameter[4].
An edible oil is obtained from the seed[6].
Medicinal: The pulp of the fruit is stimulant and tonic[13].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 RHS. The Garden Volume 112. Royal Horticultural Society, 1987.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Taylor, Jane. The Milder Garden. Dent, 1990.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Grey-Wilson, Christopher and Victoria Matthews. Gardening on Walls. Collins, 1983.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.