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Passiflora foetida
Also called Passion flower, Lani wai (Ni`ihau), Love-in-a-mist, Pohapoha, Running pop, Wild water lemon, Stinking Passionflower
Passiflora foetida is a climbing or creeping vine in the passion flower family, usually grown as a short-lived perennial or annual in warm climates. It thrives in full sun and tolerates dry ground, though it prefers moist soil.
Passiflora foetida (common names: stinking passionflower, wild maracuja, bush passion fruit, wild water lemon, stoneflower, love-in-a-mist, or running pop) is a species of passion flower that is native to the southwestern United States (southern Texas and Arizona), Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and much of South America. It has been introduced to tropical regions around the world, such as Southeast Asia, South Asia, Hawaii, Africa, and The Maldives. It is a creeping vine like other members of the genus, and yields an edible fruit. The specific epithet, foetida, means "stinking" in Latin and refers to the strong aroma emitted by damaged foliage.
This passion flower tolerates arid ground, but favours moist areas. It is known to be an invasive species in some areas. This plant is also a widely grown perennial climber, and has been used in traditional medicine.
The fruits are roughly the size of a ping pong ball or kumquat and contain a bluish-white pulp that is mildly sweet and delicately flavored. In the Philippines, the fruit of Passiflora foetida are known colloquially as marya-marya ('Little Mary'), balabalecua (in kapampangan), kurombot, utot-utot, and santo papa (due to its resemblance to the Pope's mitre). Young leaves and plant tips are also edible. Dry leaves are used in tea in Vietnamese folk medicine to relieve sleeping problems, as well as treatment for itching and coughs.
Sea anemone passion flower · Bracted passionflower · Passionflower · Passiflora ambigua · Passiflora amoena · Passiflora ampullacea · Passion flower · Passion flower · Passionflower · Passiflora arbelaezii · Passiflora arborea · Arizona Passion Vine
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Passiflora foetida by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
