Passiflora ligularis – Sweet Granadilla (plant)
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Passiflora ligularis, commonly known as the Sweet granadilla or Grenadia is a plant species in the Passiflora genus. The epithet ligularis comes from the plant’s ligulate corollae. It is native to the Andes Mountains between Bolivia, Venezuela and Colombia. It grows as far south as northern Argentina and as far north as Mexico. Outside of its native range it grows in the tropical mountains of Africa and Australia (where they are known as passionfruit), and is now common in local markets of Papua New Guinea, where it is known as ‘sugar fruit’. It likes between 600 and 1000 mm of annual rain and grows at altitudes ranging from 1700 to 2600m above sea level. They have abundant, simple leaves and greenish-white flowers. The fruit is orange to yellow colored with small light markings. It has a round shape with a tip ending in the stem. The fruit is between 6.5 and 8 cm long and between 5.1 and 7 cm in diameter. The outer shell is hard and slippery, and has soft padding on the interior to protect the seeds. The seeds, which are hard and black, are surrounded by a gelatinous sphere of transparent pulp. The pulp is the edible part of the fruit and has a soft sweet taste. It is very aromatic and contains vitamins A, C, and K, phosphorus, iron, and calcium (Info at Wikipedia).
Care and Cultivation of Passiflora ligularis
Passiflora ligularis likes full sun to part shade position, rich well drained soil, prefers a somewhat cooler climate but fruits well in temperate and subtropical climates. Needs a trellis, fence or tree to climb over. It grows better in subtropical winter as it is adapted to altitude and cooler weather.