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Time to open a Passionfruit!

A couple of months ago, I shared a photo of my Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) vine, complete with fruit and flowers. I have been waiting for the fruit to ripen – but I think that in mid-December, after we’ve had a frost – it’s not gonna ripen any further. :-)

Passionflower and passionfruit

So here is what it looks like today:

Passionfruit vertical

↑This is a picture of the passionfruit on its side, with the top facing up/north.

passionfruit horizontal

↑This is the fruit turned 90° to the left.

passionfruit cross-section

↑I sliced the passionfruit in half with a cross-section cut. It was juicy and and felt kind-of hollow while I was slicing it.

20081213-dsc_0007

↑I scooped out the seeds from one half. They are coated in a jelly-like goo – similar to a pomegranate. This goo has a name – it is called “aril.”

passionfruit all seeds out

You’re probably wondering, “What does it taste like?” “Did she try it?”

Yep, I tried it – put a goo-coated seed in my mouth and was surprised at the sweetness and fruity flavor. I guess I was surprised because it looks so strange, and because I grew it myself. Can you tell that I’m proud of myself? Our Settler ancestors would be laughing at me right now.

My vine produced 5 passionfruits, 3 of which I put out in the Bird Lounge (my home-made feeding station). The fruit had been on the vine so long, I wondered if anyone was going to eat them. I put the 3 out last night, and this morning there were 2 left! I guess someone likes them – I’m hoping to see which bird or other animal takes them.

If I get a chance to see who likes passionfruit, I’ll update this post. Here’s hoping!

passionfruit in the Bird Lounge

4 Responses to “Time to open a Passionfruit!”

  • That’s intriguing. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen a passion fruit!

  • AJ:

    Very informative! My only suggestion is that you re-title it “Alien Autopsy.”

  • linda:

    How old is your vine? Do all the flowers produce fruit?

    It is one of my favorite flowers, truly a miracle.

  • Hi Linda-
    I planted this vine in Oct. 2007. It died back over the winter of 2007-2008, and had its first full season this year. It usually produced 1-3 flowers a day, so it can’t have produced a fruit from every flower. I often picked one off to give to friends and family. I heartily agree with you about these flowers – they are amazing, gorgeous, and smell lovely. This vine had more water than it wanted due to my neighbor’s watering on the other side of the fence. I am not sure if this is why it fruited so late in the year, or only produced 5 fruits. Maybe it will become even more robust with each season that it becomes more established. I plan to start the seeds in pots this coming spring – will see if I can grow them into enough vines to cover my fence. Can you imagine!?

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