Passion Fruit

Common name: Passion Fruit.

Scientific name: Passiflora edulis Sims

Family: Passifloraceae

Distribution and Habitat: Its origin is Brazil and it is cultivated in Madeira because it is a widely appreciated fruit by the island’s inhabitants.

Description: This fruit grows in herbaceous or woody creeping plants that may reach more than 10 m in length; the leaves are green, shiny on the upper part, simple, alternate, ovate, elliptic, lobed or palmate. The hermaphrodite blossoms are of rare beauty; they are white and purple and have an intense perfume. The egg-shaped fruit is purplish, its shell is hard and wrinkled, and the pulp is yellow, juicy and has small black seeds.

Conservation statute and Threats: None

Observations: Blooming season is from April to November.