''Passiflora laurifolia'', commonly known as the water lemon, Jamaican honeysuckle, golden bellapple, pomme liane on

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

and orange lilikoi (yellow lilikoi, or simply lilikoi, is the name given to ''passiflora edulis v. flavicarpa'' for the valley where it first grew in Hawai'i), is a species in the family

Passifloraceae The Passifloraceae are a family of flowering plants, containing about 750 species classified in around 27 genera. They include trees, shrubs, lianas, and climbing plants, and are mostly found in tropical regions. The family takes its name from t ...

. It is native to tropical

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, and has spread to other parts of the world. As a tropical species, water lemon will not tolerate any

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

. Water lemon is only occasionally cultivated, but the fruits are usually available in markets wherever the

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

grows in wild. It is not widely known outside those regions. The fruit is medium-sized, ovoid in shape, about long with a diameter of , with a green or deep orange skin and white-yellow, extremely juicy

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material * ...

. The water lemon has an excellent mild, perfumed taste, without the tartness of the common

Passionfruit ''Passiflora edulis,'' commonly known as passion fruit, is a vine species of passion flower native to southern Brazil through Paraguay and northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its sweet, seedy f ...

. It grows on a vigorous vine up to 30 feet long. Growing better in slightly humid climates, the vine is not particular about soil or water requirements, other than liking ground moisture year-round. It is almost always grown from seeds, but can be propagated by cuttings. Bottom-heating the seeds at 70-80 °F (21-27 °C) can result in

germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...

at 1–2 weeks; at lower temperatures, seeds can take up to 10 weeks to germinate. The fruits are eaten fresh, or used in drinks and beverages.

Waterlemon Cay Waterlemon Cay is a small cay surrounded by a fringing reef located in Leinster Bay on Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is named after the water lemon. The cay is surrounded by a fringing reef, and is considered to be one of the best snorkel ...

in the Virgin Islands is named after the fruit. Passiflora laurifolia flower

References

laurifolia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Passifloraceae-stub