Passiflora tripartita var. mollissima
Common name
banana passionfruit
Family
Passifloraceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Lianes & Related Trailing Plants - Dicotyledons
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
PASTVM
Habitat
Terrestrial. Typically found in shrublands, forest margins, roadsides, wastelands, farm and orchard hedges and domestic gardens. Prefers light gaps on fertile soil, In cooler areas regular frosts and occasional snowfalls appear to limit the plants growth
Features
Vigorous vine, shoots densely hairy with large persistent stipules. Leaves 3-lobed up to 14 cm long, densely tomentose beneath, at least some hairs above. Flowers are pink with long hypanthium (up to 9 cm) and short petals. Fruit up to about 10 cm long, obovoid, green ripening to orange-yellow and containing edible orange pulp with small black seed.
Similar taxa
Can be distinguished from P. tarminiana by the large persistent stipules, and the long hypanthium on the flower. P. mixta is also similar, but has salmon-pink flowers and a pubescent hypanthium. From var. azuayensis (q.v.) it is distinguished by having ‘leaves moderately to densely pubescent on upper surface’ (Heenan & Sykes 2003); var. azuayensis has ‘leaves glabrous to glabrate on upper surface’ (ibid.)
Flowering
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Flower colours
Red/Pink
Year naturalised
1958
Origin
Tropical N. South America
Etymology
passiflora: Passionflower
Reason For Introduction
Agricultural
Life Cycle Comments
Perennial. Few seedlings are present owing to the parent plants combinations of low germination levels (around 25%), high seedling mortality and shading (Buxton 1994).
Reproduction
Reproduces from seed and can grow from stem fragments.
Seed
Moderate seed numbers are produced by the plant. Seed accumulates in the soil seed bank over time, ensuring continuous germination (Williams & Buxton 1995).
Dispersal
The fruit is eaten by pigs, possums, kiore, ship rats, Norway rats, and many birds, however it is not known whether the seed remains viable after consumption.
Tolerances
The plant is intolerant to deep shade and reprouts after grazing and physical damage. Requires medium soil fertility.
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