Passiflora edulis or passion fruit is a vine species native to southern Brazil through Paraguay and northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its sweet, seedy fruit, commonly called passion fruit
Passiflora edulis is a hardy evergreen climber with exotic looking flowers and is the vine for the tasty edible passion fruit that flourishes during the summer months. Easy to grow, this bold looking plant produces very fragrant and unusual flowers from May through to October which have white/cream base petals and sit beneath decorative filaments. The passion fruit is so called because it is one of the many species of passion flower, the English translation of the Latin genus name, Passiflora. Around 1700, the name was given by missionaries in Brazil as an educational aid while trying to convert the indigenous inhabitants to Christianity; its name was flor das cinco chagas or "flower of the five wounds" to illustrate the crucifixion of Christ, with other plant components also named after an emblem in the Passion of Jesus.
