Passiflora incarnata

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Leaves, Flowers

The fruit can be eaten raw or used cooked in jellies and jams. It has a sweet flavour and is best used as a jelly. The fruit is high in niacin and fairly large — up to 5cm in diameter — though it contains relatively little edible pulp and a lot of seeds. The leaves can be eaten raw in salads or cooked as a vegetable, and are said to be delicious prepared either way. The flowers can be cooked as a vegetable or made into syrup.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows in subtropical America. It grows to 39°N in the USA. It is hardy to -10°C. The vine dies back and re-grows with temperatures below freezing. It needs a well drained soil. It suits hardiness zones 6-10.

Africa, Asia, Australia, Cuba, East Africa, Europe, India, Indochina, Italy, Madagascar, Mediterranean, Myanmar, North America, Pakistan, SE Asia, Tasmania, USA*, Vietnam, West Indies,

How to Identify

A vigorous climber. The vines can be 4.5 m long. The leaves have 3 lobes and are 15 cm long and wide. They are blue-green underneath and have teeth along the edges. The flowers are 5 cm wide and white. The fruit are oval and yellow. They are 5 cm long. They have a flavour something like apricot.

Nutrition Score: 37/100

How to Grow

Requires a well-drained soil with plenty of moisture in the growing season, otherwise it is not fussy. Another report says that it prefers a well-drained sandy slightly acid soil in full sun. In a well-drained soil the roots are hardy to about -20°c, although top growth is killed back by frost. The top growth is cut back almost to the ground each year by some people and the plant treated as a herbaceous perennial. The roots should be mulched in winter to prevent them from freezing. Plants thrive in a short growing season. A climbing plant, supporting itself by means of tendrils. Resistant to pests and diseases. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus. Cultivated for its edible fruit by the North American Indians. Plants yield from 5 to 20 fruits annually in the wild. Outdoor grown plants should have their roots restricted in order to encourage fruit production instead of excessive vegetative growth. Hand pollinate using pollen from a flower that has been open for 12 hours to pollinate a newly opened flower before midday. Herbaceous. A suckering vine sending up suckers some distance main plant.

Propagation: Pre-soak seed for 12 hours in warm water, then sow in late winter or early spring in a warm greenhouse. Seed sown in January and grown on quickly can flower and fruit within its first year. Germination takes 1–12 months at 20°C. Prick seedlings out into individual pots once large enough to handle. Plants intended for outdoor growing are best overwintered in the greenhouse during their first year, then planted out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. Mulch roots well in late autumn for cold protection. Take cuttings of young shoots (15cm with a heel) in spring, or use leaf bud cuttings in spring. Cuttings of fully mature wood taken in early summer take about 3 months and have a high success rate.

Medicinal Uses

Maypops is a valuable sedative and tranquillising herb with a long history of use in North America, frequently used to treat insomnia, epilepsy, and hysteria. The leaves and stems are antispasmodic, astringent, diaphoretic, hypnotic, narcotic, sedative, and vasodilating, and are also used in the treatment of women's complaints. The plant is harvested after some berries have matured and then dried for later use. It is used for insomnia, nervous tension, irritability, neuralgia, irritable bowel syndrome, pre-menstrual tension, and vaginal discharges. Extracts depress the motor nerves of the spinal cord, slightly reduce blood pressure, and increase respiratory rate. The plant contains alkaloids and flavonoids that act as an effective non-addictive sedative without causing drowsiness. It is not recommended for use during pregnancy. A poultice of the roots is applied externally to boils, cuts, earaches, and inflammation. The dried plant is exported from America to Europe for medicinal use. A homeopathic remedy is also made from the plant. The German Commission E Monographs approve Passiflora incarnata for nervousness and insomnia.

Other Uses

None known.

Passiflora incarnata, commonly known as maypop, purple passionflower, true passionflower, wild apricot, and wild passion vine, is a fast-growing perennial vine with climbing or trailing stems. A member of the passionflower genus Passiflora, the maypop has large, intricate flowers with prominent styles and stamens. One of the hardiest species of passionflower, it is both found as a wildflower in the southern United States and in cultivation for its edible fruit and striking bluish purple blooms.

Production

The vine is fast growing and vigorous.

Other Information

It is cultivated.

Notes

There are about 400 Passiflora species.

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