Passiflora belongs to the Passiflora family and has more than 500 species, one of which is edible Passiflora - a long evergreen liana with very beautiful original flowers, nicknamed "cavalier's star" in Russia because of its resemblance to the order.
Flower Discovery Story
Most of the passionflower species are native to the tropical and unexplored forests of South America, and some flower species are also found in Asia and Madagascar. Europe got acquainted with this plant only after the conquest of the New World.
Passiflora flower has a complex and original structure - at the top of the petals is a "crown", consisting of long scales, behind which are large stamens. Even higher is the pistil and 3 stigmas (see photo of edible passionflower). Because of this appearance, the missionaries who came to America and the Catholic Church considered the flowerthe crown of thorns of Christ and forbade its study. The first description of passionflower was made only in the twentieth century.
Biological Description
This perennial plant can grow up to 3-4 m in length, it produces very long shoots that cling to supports with the help of tendrils. The leaves are large, consisting of 3-5 lobes. Passiflora fruit is a juicy multi-seeded berry, there are up to 60 edible species in passionflower, many of them are even grown as fruit plants.
The most famous and popular edible varieties of passionflower:
- Passionfruit.
- Granadilla.
- Maestro.
- Galaxy and others
Maintenance and care of the plant
Edible passionflower (or passion fruit) is a fast growing vine that can be planted both outdoors and indoors. The main condition for successful growth is sufficient lighting, so it cannot be grown in the shade or under the dense crown of a tree.
Optimum temperature for growth: + 18 … + 24 ˚С, at a higher temperature, the leaves begin to turn yellow and dry out, the number of buds decreases, the plant may die. In winter, during the dormant period, it is kept at +12…+18 ˚С.
The soil for passionflower is used light, well breathable, for which sand or peat is added to it.
The flower requires frequent watering during the period of growth and flowering (from spring to the end of autumn), the soil should always be slightly moist, in the summer it is watered every other day. During the dormant period in winter, watering is done once a a week oreven less frequently. Passionflower is demanding on air humidity, in the summer it should be sprayed often, while it is impossible for the sun's rays to burn the leaves through the drops.
Feeding the plants is done twice a month, using complex mineral mixtures. You can use liquid fertilizer for flowers, but diluted in half.
Passiflora does not tolerate drafts, but loves frequent airing. When planting, one should take into account the presence of supports along which the vine will grow upwards. The plant must be pruned frequently, especially shoots after flowering, which are cut off completely. In the spring, pruning is done by 1/3 of the length, because the flowers will be placed only on fresh shoots.
Propagation of passionflower by cuttings
Edible passionflower can be propagated in several ways, the easiest of which is by cuttings. Apical cuttings with buds are cut in summer to a length of up to 10 cm, and then rooted in the soil in a warm room (+20 … + 25 ˚С). To prepare the soil mixture, when planting, take 3 parts of leafy soil, 2 - humus, 2 - turf, 1 - sand.
Immediately before planting, they are treated with root, then the pot with cuttings is covered with a film, within 1 month the cuttings take root. You can put the cuttings in water by adding a piece of charcoal for 1.5-2 months. roots should appear, but the water cannot be changed.
You can also do whisker propagation during the growing season.
Reproductionpassion flower seeds
Propagation by seeds is a longer process than cuttings. In addition, very often the seeds germinate poorly due to long storage (sometimes several months). With this method, certain rules must be observed:
- cultivation of edible passionflower from seeds starts in February;
- The soil mixture must be disinfected before planting: roast in the oven for 10 minutes. at 200 ˚С;
- seeds are sown in the soil to a depth of 1 cm. Then the container is covered with film or glass, the temperature in the room should be +22…+24 ˚С. When the first leaves appear, make a pick in separate pots with a diameter of more than 7 cm;
- edible passionflower seeds have a hard shell, so to soften it, they make scarification - lightly rub them with sandpaper on both sides;
- then the seeds are kept overnight in milk or in a solution of citrus juice (lemon or orange);
- only then planted in a container or peat cups;
- every day the container needs to be ventilated, for which the film is removed for 5 minutes;
- moisturize the soil as it dries by spraying;
- as soon as sprouts appear, the film is removed, and the container must be rearranged in a place with good lighting.
Planting and blooming passionflower
The plant is a perennial, it is transplanted once a year in the spring. When planting a small plant in the first year, it should be covered for 2 weeks with a glass jar. In the first year, passionflower forms the basis of the future liana, increasing the mainshoots, usually up to 1.5 m long. At the same time, she definitely needs support to gain a foothold.
In autumn, when the temperature drops below +15 ˚С, the plant must be transferred to a room where the temperature can be maintained at +13…+16 ˚С. If the room is hot, then the vine begins to go bald and lose leaves.
In the second year in spring, last year's long shoots should be cut to a third of the length, given that the flowers will form on fresh shoots. Passiflora blooms almost the entire summer season from June to October, but each flower lives only 1 day.
Growing fruits indoors is difficult. To get them, you must have at least 2 plants of the same species, because they are cross-pollinated. Due to the mismatch of flowering on these plants, pollination may not occur. The fruits of various plant species usually ripen within 2-3.5 months.
Let's look at different varieties of edible passionflowers.
Passion flower types
Passion fruit passionflower edible or Granadilla (Passiflora edulis) - the most common species, its homeland is Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina. In culture, it grows up to 5-8 m, has matte three-lobed leaves. There are two varieties of it: with yellow fruits and purple. The flowers are very large (6-8 cm), light purple, and the fruits are round in size up to 6 cm. They are used to prepare drinks and sweets, add to tea.
Passiflora banana or tender (Passiflora mollissima) -grows naturally in Bolivia, Venezuela and Colombia. The flowers are pink up to 12 cm in size, the fruits emit a pleasant aroma. Of all the species, banana passionflower is the most cold-resistant, bearing fruit in the first year.
Passiflora edible Galaxy is a perennial climbing plant, creepers grow up to 4.5 m long, flowers up to 12 cm in size are white-pink. The fruits are brown-red, have a pleasant aroma.
The largest in terms of fruit size and stem length - Passiflora tetrahedral (Passiflora quadrangularis) - grows up to 15 m in length, flowers are also large, up to 15 cm in diameter, large oval-shaped fruits up to 30 cm, have a thick peel, and inside - sweet juicy pulp. Under the conditions of the middle lane, such a plant can only be grown in greenhouse conditions.
Edible Passiflora Maestro is one of the popular and widespread varieties in Russia, which is successfully used by gardeners for growing indoors and outdoors.
Apple-shaped passionflower (Passiflora maliformis) or Chulyupa is a liana with a tree-like stem up to 10 m long. Its fruits are up to 5 cm in size, contain sweet fragrant gray or pale orange pulp with black seeds. The pulp is used in the manufacture of drinks. Plantings of this species are grown in Brazil and Ecuador for edible fruit.
Passion flower diseases and pests
Edible Passiflora can be attacked by spider mites, aphids, mealybugs and whiteflies. Protectthe plant can be used with "Fitoverma" or "Aktara" to destroy the worms, preparations containing cypermethrin ("Arrivo", "Inta-vir") are used.
Infectious diseases that can threaten the plant are root rot, late blight, ring and brown spot, scab, fusarium, very rarely - yellow mosaic virus. It is very rare to cure a diseased plant, so it is destroyed along with the pot.
Healing properties of passionflower
Some types of passion flowers also have important medicinal value. Even the ancient Incas used passionflower as a soothing tea. The main healing effect of passionflower is a sedative that improves the quality and duration of sleep without any negative consequences. The plant is used to treat diseases of the nervous system, helps with insomnia, depression, epilepsy, etc.
Also, medicines prepared from this plant have antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant and analgesic effects, improve memory, increase efficiency and potency. Another unique effect of passionflower - compensation for the action of amphetamine - is used with great success to cure drug addiction and alcoholism.
The most valuable species from the point of view of medicine - Passiflora incarnata (Passiflora incarnata) or apricot, grows into a very long vine up to 10 m. The flowers are bright purple, and the fruits have a lemon hue the size of a plum, tasting sweet and sour. The medicine "extract" is made from its ground parts.passionflower", which has a calming effect, is prescribed for diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular systems. The fruits have a very interesting smell, similar to the aroma of lilacs.
Using passionfruit for food
In our country, the fruits of edible passionflower (passion fruit and other species) can only be found in additives to yogurt, ice cream or juice. It is very rare to find a piece of the fruit in tropical tea blends.
The pulp of this fruit is very tasty and sweet, in the homeland it is consumed raw, mixed with sugar and water, and for making jams, jellies and sherbets. Often pieces of this fruit are added to curd desserts and cakes.
Sweet juice and jam can be used in cooking meat and fish dishes, fruit tastes best with nuts, apples, cinnamon and pears.
However, caution should be exercised, as some varieties (for example, Azure Passionflower) contain a small percentage of cyanide, some others contain weaker toxic substances that are harmful to human he alth.
