List of All Fruits: PassionfruitPassion fruits are great for usd in soft drinks or cocktails. The fruits grow on a climbing plant which is also well known for its beautiful flowers.
Family: Passifloraceae
Order Malpighiales
Types: There are two forms of passion fruit. Apart from the standard purple form (Passiflora edulis f. edulis), there is also a yellow form which is called: Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa
Origin: Purple passion fruit originates from southern Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina.
The origin of the yellow passion fruit is not clear, but may be the Amazon region.
Distribution: Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, India, South Africa, Kenya, Philippines, Indonesia and several other countries in Asia, Africa and South America.
Evergreen or deciduous: Evergreen
Description: The passion fruit is a woody, perennial, vine. It climbs by means of tendrils.
Flowers: Passion fruit has a very distinctive flower called Passion flower. But this name is also used for many other species in the Passifloraceae family. The name refers to the Passion of Christ on the cross. Spanish missionaries adopted the unique physical structures of this flower as symbols of Crucifixion. The 72 radial filaments (or corona) represent the Crown of Thorns. The top 3 stigmata represent the 3 nails and the lower 5 anthers represent the 5 wounds.
Leaves: Alternate leaves, which are deeply 3-lobed when mature. Leaves are finely toothed and can be 8 to 20 cm long. The color is deep-green and glossy above, but they are paler and dull beneath. Leaves can be tinged with red or purple, especially in the yellow form.
Fruits: The fruit has a round to oval shape. At maturity the color is yellow or dark purple. The fruits has a thick peel and a soft to firm, juicy interior which is filled with many seeds. The purple form has black seeds, the yellow form has brown seeds. Fruits of the yellow form are generally larger than the purple.
Climate and weather: The purple passion fruit is subtropical while the yellowform is tropical or near-tropical.