The passion flowers, which vary greatly in appearance, habit and care, belong to a large family of plants: There are an estimated 530 different species, which are mainly native to Central and South America and Australia.
Which passionflower has edible fruits?
Of around 530 species of passionflower, only around 60 produce edible fruits. Examples of edible fruits include passion fruit (P. edulis), giant grenadilla (P. quadrangularis), and grenadilla (P. ligularis). Fruit ripening requires successful pollination, which often occurs through cross-pollination or cross-pollination.
Only about 60 species produce edible fruits
All Passiflora produce fruits, although only about 60 species are actually edible. In this case, however, “edible” does not always mean “tasty,” because the fruits of some species are rather questionable from a culinary point of view. Other species develop inedible or even poisonous fruits.
Passiflora species with edible fruits
In the table below you will find a list of the edible fruits of popular Passiflora species.
| Passiflora | German name | Origin | Flowers | Pollination | Fruit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P. edulis | Passionfruit | Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina | white-violet | selffertile | brownish-red |
| P. quadrangularis | Giant Grenadilla | Central America, West Indies | red, white-purple | selffertile | only in the greenhouse / winter garden |
| P. ligularis | Grenadilla | Brazil, Peru, Venezuela | light purple | Cross-pollination | orange |
| P. alata | Winged Passionflower | Peru, Brazil | red | Cross-pollination | yellow / light orange |
| P. incarnata | Flesh Colored Passionflower | Bahamas, southern USA, Brazil | white-light purple | selffertile | greenish-yellow |
| P. caerulea | Blue passionflower | Argentina, Brazil | blue-white | selffertile | edible but not very tasty |
| P. coccinea | Red passionflower | Brazil, Peru, Venezuela | bright red | Cross-pollination | yellowish-green |
| P. vitifolia | Vine-leaved passionflower | Nicaragua, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru | bright red | Cross-pollination | spherical |
Without pollination there are no fruits
Botanically speaking, passionflower produces berries because the fruit develops from a single ovary. It takes between two to three months from flowering to maturity, although a harvest can only take place after successful fertilization. However, only a few passion flowers are self-fertile, i.e. H. Self-pollination is possible due to hermaphrodite flowers. However, most passiflora rely on cross-pollination or cross-pollination. In this case, you will need at least a second plant that is not genetically related to the one being pollinated. Fertilizing a passiflora with a clone, such as a self-grown cutting, is therefore not possible. To be on the safe side, it's best to pollinate yourself by hand using the tried and tested brush method (€7.00 on Amazon) - passion flower blossoms are often only fertile for a few hours.
Tips & Tricks
Even if you have a passiflora with inedible fruits, fruit production can be worthwhile. In this way you can propagate your plant yourself and create a variety of genetically different plants.
