Yellow Granadilla
Passiflora laurifolia

Family: Passifloraceae

What it is like

Native to tropical Americas, Passiflora laurifolia or commonly known as Yellow Granadilla is a perennial, climbing vine that grows in lowland areas in the tropics. Its stem reaches up to 15m long. The leaves are round and rough, flowers are fragrant and large, and fruits are oblong and yellow or orange when ripe. The plant is generally a vermifuge while poultice of the leaves is used for dressing syphilitic ulcers. The fruits can be eaten raw or made into a drink. It has high content of vitamin C. The leaves, however, are poisonous. The plant can be grown from seeds and propagated by cuttings. It is not frost-tolerant. Other common names include water lemon, Jamaican honeysuckle, golden bell apple, pommeliane, and orange lilikoi.

Passiflora laurifolia is an evergreen Climber growing to 15 m (49ft) by 0.5 m (1ft 8in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. Suitable for: medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 15

Where it is found

Climbing into trees and shrubs in tropical rainforests. Thickets and forest borders.

S. America - eastern Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Guyanas to the Caribbean.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Amazon, Antigua and Barbuda, Asia, Australia, Barbados, Brazil*, Central America, Cook Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Fiji, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Lesser Antilles*, Malaysia, Martinique, Montserrat, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Puerto Rico, SE Asia, South America, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Thailand, Tonga, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Indies*,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 4

Fruit - raw or made into a refreshing drink. The orange-yellow fruits have a fragrant, juicy, agreeably subacid pulp. The fruit is sometimes eaten by making a hole in one end and sucking out the pulp and seeds. The fruit is rich in vitamin C. The ovoid fruit is about 8cm x 4cm.

Drink: not including plant saps, tea or coffee substitutes.

Sweetener: includes sugar substitutes.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The content of the glycoside passiflorin can produce weak narcotic effects. (I believe this is found mainly in the leaves or roots.) A cold, salted decoction of the root is said to be an effective vermifuge. An infusion of the stems and leaves is used as a children's vermifuge. The leaves are vermifuge. The powdered leaves are bitter and considered to be an anthelmintic. A poultice of the leaves is used for dressing syphilitic ulcers. The green fruit contains acetone and a cyanogenic heteroside which disappears upon maturity of the fruit.

Anthelmintic: Expels parasites from the gut.

Bitter: Increases the appetite and stimulates digestion by acting on the mucous membranes of the mouth. Also increases the flow of bile, stimulates repair of the gut wall lining and regulates the secretion of insulin and glucogen.

Narcotic: Relieves pain, induces drowsiness and gives a sense of well-being.

Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

Vermifuge: Expels and kills internal parasites.

Vitamin C: Plants good for their vitamin C content

Other

Rating: 2

Other Uses Sometimes used as a rootstock for P. edulis because it is less susceptible to soil borne disease.

Rootstock: Plants used as the rootstock for grafting scions onto.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

A plant of the hot, wet, lowland tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 500 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 30°c, but can tolerate 12 - 36°c. The plant is not tolerant of frost. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,000 - 3,000mm, but tolerates 1,000 - 4,000mm. Requires a humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil and a position in dappled shade. Passiflora species tend to flower and fruit more freely when grown in soils of only moderate fertility. Prefers a circumneutral soil, disliking very acid or very alkaline conditions. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7. Plants produce tendrils and climb by attaching these to other plants. Plants are very tolerant of pruning and can be cut back to ground level if required to rejuvenate the plant. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.

Propagating it: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe along with the pulp which will help break down the seed coat and speed up germination. Stored seed should be soaked for 24 hours in warm water and germination time can be reduced if the seed is then mixed with the juice of a fresh passion fruit (of any species). Even so, it can take 12 months for stored seed to germinate. Place the seed tray in a shady position, maintaining a temperature around 19 - 24°c. Prick the seedlings out into individual containers as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant out when large enough. Cuttings of young shoots, taken at the nodes. The cuttings root best in a neutral to slightly acid compost, but 100% sharp sand also produces good results. Cuttings of fully mature wood taken at a node. They can take 3 months, but there is usually a high percentage. Layering. Very easy. Air layering.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Climber

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

The leaves are said to be poisonous.

Its other names

Local names

Yellow Granadilla, Bell apple, Buah belebar, Buah belewar, Buah selaseh, Buah susu, Golden apple, Guoi tay, Jamaican honeysuckle, Kratok-rok-farang, Maracuja-laranja, Markusa leutik, Paramarkoesa, Parcha, Pomme liane, Sao warot, Simitu, Sweet cup, Vinegar pear, Water lemon, bay-leaf passion, bay-leaf passionflower, bell-apple, gelbe grenadille, golden bellapple, guldgrenadill, jamaica-honeysuckle, parcha, pomme d'or, sweetcup, wasserlimone, water lemon, water-lemon, waterlemon, yellow granadilla.

Synonyms

Granadilla laurifolia (L.) Medik. Passiflora acuminata DC. Passiflora oblongifolia Pulle Passiflora