Passiflora edulis f. edulis
NPPA pest plant
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
black passionfruit
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Lianes & Related Trailing Plants - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
Violet/Purple, White
Detailed description
Vigorous vine, glabrous except for pistil and stamens. Shoots slightly angular. Leaves deeply 3-lobed, but entire on young plants; up to 15 cm long on mature plants. Solitary flowers up to 10 cm across with white petals and filaments largely white but purple towards base, hypanthium inconspicuous. Dark purple round fruit containing sweet orange pulp and small black seeds.
Similar taxa
Most similar to P. caerulea in flower, but this species has leaves with 5 lobes.
Habitat
Terrestrial. Forest margins and shrubland in frost-free areas.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Passifloraceae
Ecology
Flowering
July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March
Year naturalised
1950
Origin
tropical America
Reason for introduction
Agricultural
Tolerances
Intolerant of frosts. Prefers high light sites.
Life cycle and dispersal
Perennial. can live for a long time, often succumbs to fungal infections. Reproduces by seed, probably some stem layering. Many seeds are produced. Tends to be spread by people but birds can also spread seeds to remote sites.
Other information
Etymology
passiflora: Passionflower
National Pest Plant Accord species
This plant is listed in the 2020 National Pest Plant Accord. The National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA) is an agreement to prevent the sale and/or distribution of specified pest plants where either formal or casual horticultural trade is the most significant way of spreading the plant in New Zealand. For up to date information and an electronic copy of the 2020 Pest Plant Accord manual (including plant information and images) visit the MPI website.
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Heenan, PB; Sykes, WR 2003. Passiflora (Passifloraceae) in New Zealand: a revised key with notes on distribution. NZ J Botany 41: 217-221. DOI: 10.1080/0028825X.2003.9512842