natural herbs
Banana Passion Fruit
Passiflora mollisima

• Medicinal herbs
• Natural herbs
• Latin names
• Common names

Herb: Banana Passion Fruit

Latin name: Passiflora mollisima

Synonyms: Passiflora tripartita mollisima, Tacsonia mollissima

Family: Passifloraceae (Passion Flower Family)

Edible parts of Banana Passion Fruit:

Fruit - raw or cooked. An agreeable flavour. An aromatic taste, it can be eaten out of hand or used as a flavouring in ice creams, fruit salads, puddings etc. A juice made from the fruit is highly prized in S. America. Individual fruits are up to 15cm long and weigh 50 - 150g.

Description of the plant:

Habitat of the herb:

Forests in the Andes to elevations of 3400 metres.

Propagation of Banana Passion Fruit:

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and then sow late winter or early spring in a warm greenhouse. If sown in January and grown on fast it can flower and fruit in its first year. The seed germinates in 1 - 12 months at 20°C. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. It you are intending to grow the plants outdoors, it is probably best to keep them in the greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Mulch the roots well in late autumn to protect them from the cold. Cuttings of young shoots, 15cm with a heel, in spring. Leaf bud cuttings in spring. Cuttings of fully mature wood in early summer. Takes 3 months. High percentage.

Cultivation of the herb:

Forests in the Andes to elevations of 3400 metres.

Medicinal use of Banana Passion Fruit:

None known

Known hazards of Passiflora mollisima:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.