TROPICAL PLANT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Passiflora nitida

Bell Apple, Maracuja Suspiro
Family: Passifloraceae
Origin: Central America, South America
Vine or creeper plant

Plant attracts butterflies, hummingbirds

Ethnomedical plant.
Plants marked as ethnomedical and/or described as medicinal, are not offered as medicine but rather as ornamentals or plant collectibles.
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Passiflora nitida (Bell Apple) is a tasty, but relatively unknown passion fruit native to the Amazon jungle region. This is a rare, really delicious fruit which is much sweeter than any passion fruit. It grows in the tropical lowlands from Costa Rica in the north and French Guiana in the northeast, through wide parts of Brazil. It is similar to P. laurifolia, with orange-yellow fruits that have a sweet, succulent pulp. It is a fast-growing tropical vine. Its flowers are blue and red, a bit like P. laurifolia and P. quadrangularis. The fruits grow up to 2 in. It is tropical and should be protected from frost. The fruits are eaten fresh and very sweet, with no acid, yet very good in flavor. Passiflora nitida is also a useful fruit in a drink called Purple Passion.

Another similar species - Passiflora laurifolia, commonly known as the Water Lemon, Jamaican Honeysuckle and Orange Lilikoi. The fruit is very sweet and the plant is rare in cultivation. It is native to tropical Americas. It is not yet widely known outside those regions. The fruits are eaten fresh, or used in drinks and beverages.

The fruit is medium-sized, ovoid in shape, about 2 in long, with a green or deep orange skin and white-yellow, extremely juicy pulp. The water lemon has an excellent mild, perfumed taste, without the tartness of the common Passionfruit. It grows on a vigorous vine up to 30 feet long. Growing better in slightly humid climates, the vine is not particular about soil or water requirements, other than liking ground moisture year-round. As a tropical species, it will not tolerate frost.

It is almost always grown from seeds, but can be propagated by cuttings.

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