Passiflora laurifolia (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Passiflora laurifolia L.

Family: Passifloraceae

Vernacular names

• Water lemon, bell-apple, Jamaica honeysuckle (En)
• Pomme de liane (Fr.)
• Indonesia: markusa leutik (Sundanese)
• Malaysia: buah susu, buah selasih
• Thailand: sao warot (central), sukhontharot
• Vietnam: guôi tây.

Distribution

Wild and cultivated in tropical America. Occasionally cultivated elsewhere; in South-East Asia mainly in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Uses

The pulp of the fruit is eaten raw or prepared, e.g. in beverages.

Observations

• Woody climber, up to 10 m long, with entire leaves and large white-purplish flowers.
• Fruit an ovoid berry, 5-8 cm × 4-6 cm, orange-yellow, with flat ribbed seeds in the juicy white pulp.

In thickets and forest borders, well suited to humid lowland tropics. Propagation by seed and by cuttings; the species is self-incompatible. The foliage is poisonous.

Selected sources

• Mansfeld, R. & Schultze Motel, J., 1986. Verzeichnis landwirtschaftlicher und gärtnerischer Kuturpflanzen. 2nd ed. 4 Volumes. Springer Verlag, Berlin. 1998 pp.

• Martin, F.W. & Nakasone, H.Y., 1970. The edible species of Passiflora. Economic Botany 24: 333-343.

• Morton, J.F., 1987. Fruits of warm climates. Creative Resource Systems Inc., Winterville, N.C., USA. 503 pp.

• Purseglove, J.W., 1975. Tropical Crops. Dicotyledons 1 & 2. Longmans Green & Co., London. 719 pp.

• van Steenis, C.G.G.J. et al. (Editors), 1950-. Flora Malesiana. Series 1. Vol. 1, 4-10. Centre for Research and Development in Biology, Bogor, Indonesia, and Rijksherbarium, Leiden, the Netherlands. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, London.

• Winks, C.W., Menzel, C.M. & Simpson, D.R., 1988. Passionfruit in Queensland. Queensland Agricultural Journal (July-August): 217-224.

Authors

P.C.M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L.P.A. Oyen, T.G. van Lingen