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Passiflora maliformis
Also called Sweet Calabash, Sweetcup, Yellow Passion Fruit, Banana Passion Fruit, Banana Poka, Sweet Cup
A fast-growing, woody-stemmed passionfruit vine from the Caribbean and northern South America, grown for its small, aromatic, hard-skinned fruit. It does best in warm, wet conditions that are not too hot, and needs frost-free warmth to flower and set fruit.
Passiflora maliformis, the sweet calabash, conch apple, wild purple passionfruit, or sweet cup, is a smallish (5 cm or 2 in) passionfruit with purple, yellow or green skin and a greyed-yellow to orange pulp that is aromatically scented and flavoured. It is a fast-growing vine, growing best in somewhat cooler-than-tropical climates. The rind is particularly hard and tougher than most passionfruits. It is usually eaten fresh or used to flavour drinks. It is a native to the Caribbean, Central America and Northern South America.
It is usually grown from seeds but may also be propagated by stem-cuttings and layering. Grafting onto other Passiflora rootstock can improve hardiness. Passiflora maliformis grows in the warm, wet tropics the plants require a temperature no lower than around 16 °C (61 °F) when they are flowering in order to ensure fruit set. Passiflora species tend to flower and fruit more freely when grown in soils of only moderate fertility. Seedlings can commence fruiting when only 1–2 years old. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.
Passiflora maliformis arils contain 85.44% water, 7.17% net carbohydrates, 3.63% fibre, 2.2% protein, and 0.45% fat (see table). A 100-gram (3.5 oz) amount provides 42 kilocalories (180 kJ) and is an excellent source of magnesium and phosphorus as well as a significant source of other minerals (see table). The fruit also contains various organic acids and phenolic compounds which are responsible for the aroma and flavour. It is commonly eaten raw or made into a drink, and is said to have a flavor similar to grape.
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 maliformis 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.
