Species

Passiflora mixta

Etymology

Passiflora: Passionflower

Common Name(s)

banana passionfruit

Family

Passifloraceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

PASMIX

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.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Lianes and Related Trailing Plants

Habitat

Likely to invade forest margins and shrubland, particularly in warmer areas.

Features

Vigorous vine. Leaves 3-lobed, up to 10 cm long, pubescent below and almost hairless above. Flowers salmon-pink, and held out on an angle, hypanthium/Sepal ratio 1.6-2.6, hypanthium moderately to densely pubescent. Fruit orange-yellow, oblong and containing sweet orange pulp with black seeds.

Similar Taxa

The flowers on this species are held out on an angle, rather than drooping down in most other banana passionfruits. The Hypanthium is moderately to densely hairy, in all other species it is glabrous.

Flower Colours

Violet / Purple,White

Year Naturalised

1970

Origin

Ecuador

Reason For Introduction
Ornamental

Reproduction
Reproduces by seed and probably vegetatively through stem layering.

Dispersal
Birds eat fruit and disperse seed.

Tolerances
Intolerant of heavy frost. Prefers high light and 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

This page last updated on 25 Feb 2016