Passiflora mollissima
(Kunth.) L. H. Bailey
Banana passionfruit
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Hilda Quispe Flores, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Brandon Ortiz Arenas, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Brandon Ortiz Arenas, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A vigorous vine. It has a leaf with 3 lobes. The vine has tendrils by which it attaches to other plants. The flowers are pink and about 7.5 cm across. The fruit is long and yellow, 5-12 cm long x 3-4 cm diameter. It contains several hard black seeds.
Edible Uses
The ripe fruit is eaten fresh and used in drinks, ice creams, fruit salads, jellies, pies, puddings, and sauces. The juice is fermented into wine and made into liqueur.
Traditional Uses
The fruit is eaten when ripe. It is also used for drinks, ice creams, fruit salads, jellies, pies, puddings, sauces, and made into a liqueur. The juice is fermented into wine.
Known Hazards
The plant is sensitive to frost.
Distribution
It continuously wet areas in temperate or high altitude tropical regions the plant can spread rapidly climbing trees for support. It is suited to colder highland conditions in the tropics. It grows wild over 2500 m altitude in Papua New Guinea. Plants will fruit between 1600 and 2800 m altitude in the tropics. It suits hardiness zones 8-11. It is sensitive to frost.
Where It Grows
Africa, Andes, Asia, Australia, Bolivia, Britain, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, East Africa, Ecuador, Europe, Hawaii, India, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North America, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, SE Asia, South America, Tasmania, USA, Venezuela*, Zimbabwe,
Cultivation
Seeds can be sown in a nursery and then transplanted. Almost always grown from seeds, but it can be propagated by cuttings. Bottom heating the seeds at 20-26°C can result in germination at 1-2 weeks, at lower temperatures seeds can take up to 10 weeks to germinate. Plants need a framework to climb over.
Production
Up to 300 fruit can be produced from a well established vine.
Other Information
It is widely cultivated. In Papua New Guinea is common and fairly popular fruit in very high altitude areas.
Notes
There are about 400 Passiflora species.
Nutrition
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit | 92 | 103 | 25 | 0.6 | — | 70 | 0.4 | — |
Synonyms
Also Known As
Banana poka, Curuba, Gurua, Passiflora, Tasco
References (36)
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- Castillo, R. O., 1995, Plant Genetic Resources in the Andes: Impact, Conservation, and Management. Crop Science 35:355-360
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