Common names :

French : Marie tambour, Pomme d’or, Pomme liane, Grenadille jaune

Créole : Mari tanbou, Pòm lyann, Ponm dilyann

Spanish : Parcha, Parcha, Granadilla de China, Parcha de culebra, Saibey

English : Water lemon, Yellow water lemon, Wild passion flower, Jamaica honeysuckle, Vinegar pear, Belle apple, Yellow granadilla, Golden apple, yellow granadilla

Portugais : Maracujá-comum

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FAMILLY

PASSIFLORACEAE

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ÉTYMOLOGY

Passiflora, passio-floris translates from the Latin as 'flower of the passion', the floral organs evoking certain instruments of the Passion of Christ. Laurifolia means "who has leaves that resemble laurel leaves".

 

 

ORIGIN

Tropical america​

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HABITAT

Tropical climate (hot and humid/hot and dry). Xerophilic forests, mesophilic, degraded, clearings and forest talus on ferralitic soil. Altitude: 0-600 m but prefers 100-200 m.

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DESCRIPTION

Superb vine, up to 10 m tall, of average vigor, cultivated for the beauty of its flowers and the delicious flavor of its fruits. Size: up to 10 m Leaves: persistent, oval-shaped and oblong, glossy and with well-marked main veins. They resemble the leaves of bay leaf sauce. Size: up to 12 cm x 8 cm. Flowers: Magnificent, fragrant and hanging. Sepals spotted with purple, inner petals and white sepals. Crown of filaments blue-violaceous. Size: medium, about 8cm in diameter. Fruits: globose to oval, yellow to orange when ripe. Skin thick, supple and fluffy. Juicy, gelatinous pulp, translucent to whitish, full of small blackish seeds. Size: 4-6 cm long. Weight: about 15 g. Seeds: Small, black and flat, with the significant shape of Passifloraceae.

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NEEDS

Watering: Necessary as a supplement in dry areas Soil: Little demanding regarding the nature of the soil, supports periods of drought and calcareous soils Exposure: Full sun. Hardiness: -3°C Flowering/fructification: almost all year round but no longer from July to February.

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CULTURE

- Provide an arbor, a wire or a mesh to facilitate the harvest because the plant clings with its tendrils and can climb very high. - Easy cultivation and slow growth. - Planting density: 800-1000 plants/Ha, spaced 5 m apart on the row, east-west orientation.

MAINTENANCE

Necessary size after harvest, attention, the stems are brittle. No specific parasite. Rats and birds love them, it is possible to harvest before full maturity.

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MULTIPLICATION

Seeds

- Generally by sowing in spring or at the end of winter indoors, all year round for a tropical climate. - Scarification is recommended but not mandatory. - Soak the seeds 24h in hot water, then sow 5 seeds in a cup filled with propagation soil, at 1 cm depth at 20°C minimum. - The seeds rise in 2 to 3 weeks, transplant them when the seedlings have 2-3 leaves.

 

Cutting

The cutting allows to amplify the selected varieties. Takes place in April or September on semi-woody parts, all year round in the tropics. Make a cutting of 3 knots, between 10 and 20 cm, removing a good part of the leaves.

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USES

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ORNAMENTAL USE

Magnificent vine for an arbor.

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FOOD USE

Fruit consumed raw, in nectar, in punch, syrup, juice, jams, maceration, sorbets, ice cream, cocktail and sauces. Choose a soft, smooth, stain-free, mould-free and heavy fruit. It can be kept for several days at room temperature and then a few days in the refrigerator. The fruit is moderately caloric, rich in Potassium, Vitamin C and Vitamin B3.

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OTHER USES

With the stems stripped of their bark, we make small basketware, like baskets.

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ANECDOTES

Contains as many vitamins C as the orange. 100mL of fruit juice represents 51% of the AQR.

 

Good rootstock for other Passionflowers sensitive to phytophtora such as maracudjas (Passiflora edulis).

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SOURCES

- Illustrated flora of the phanerogams of Guadeloupe and Martinique - Jacques Fournet - Ed CIRAD - GONDWANA EDITIONS - T2 P440

- Plants, environments and landscapes of the French Antilles - Claude Sastre and Anne Breuil - Ed Parthenope collection - P460

- The exquisite treasures of tropical fruits and vegetables - PARM - Ed Orphie - P206

- Directory of fruits and vegetables of Guadeloupe - Gérald Veyssière - Ed Orphie - P176

- Tropical fruits, know and cultivate my fruit trees - Fabrice and Valérie Le Bellec - Ed Orphie - P186 - http://www.passiflorae.fr/Images/Passiflore.pdf