''Passiflora quadrangularis'', the giant granadilla, barbadine (

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

), grenadine (

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

), giant tumbo or badea (), is a species of plant in the family Passifloraceae. It produces the largest fruit of any species within the genus ''

Passiflora ''Passiflora'', known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 550 species of flowering plants, the type genus of the family Passifloraceae. They are mostly tendril-bearing vines, with some being shrubs or trees. They ...

''. It is a perennial climber native to the Neotropics.

Description

Passiflora quadrangularis the giant granadilla 01

It is a vigorous, tender evergreen perennial climber with nodding red flowers, each surrounded by white and purple filaments. It has smooth, cordate, ovate or acuminate leaves; petioles bearing from 4 to 6 glands; an emetic and

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

root; scented

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s; and a large, oblong

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

, up to 12 inches (30 cm) in length. containing numerous seeds, embedded in a subacid edible pulp.

Uses

The badea is sometimes grown in

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...

s. The fruits of several other species of Passiflora are eaten. '' P. laurifolia'' is the

water lemon ''Passiflora laurifolia'', commonly known as the water lemon, Jamaican honeysuckle, golden bellapple, pomme liane on Martinique & Guadeloupe and orange lilikoi (yellow lilikoi, or simply lilikoi, is the name given to ''passiflora edulis v. flavic ...

and '' P. maliformis'' the sweet calabash of the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. The fruit juice of the badea is used as a beverage. In some parts of Sri Lanka the fruit, where it is known as ටං ටිං (), රට පුහුල් or ටුං ටුං, is cooked as a vegetable curry, and the seeds are consumed as a snack or used to extract juice. A

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

is made from the leaves which is used for

high blood pressure Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

and

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

. A drink and ice-cream are made from the fruit.

Ornamental

''Passiflora quadrangularis'' is also grown as an ornamental. Requiring a minimum temperature of , in temperate zones it must be grown under glass. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

References

Gallery

Passiflora quadrangularis-IMG 4481.jpg Passiflora quadrangularis (2944484362).jpg Badea.jpg Flore des serres et des jardins de l'Europe (8594787963).jpg, Louis van Houtte,1853

External links

*Mendes, John. (1986). ''Cote ce Cote la: Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary''.

Arima Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of th ...