The passion fruit is the

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 partic ...

of a number of plants in 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. The ...

''.

Etymology

The passion fruit is so called because it is one of the many

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

of passion flower, the English translation of the Latin genus name, ''Passiflora'', and may be spelled "passion fruit", "passionfruit", or "passion-fruit". Around 1700, the name was given by missionaries in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

as an educational aid while trying to convert the indigenous inhabitants to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

; its name was ''flor das cinco chagas'' or "flower of the five wounds" to illustrate the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

of Christ and his resurrection, with other plant components also named after an emblem in the Passion of Jesus.

History

The passion fruit was first introduced to Europe in 1553.

Appearance and structure

Passion fruits are round or oval, and range from a width of 1.5 to 3 inches. They can be yellow, red, purple, and green. The fruits have a juicy edible center composed of a large number of

seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm ...

Varieties

Well known edible passion fruits can be divided into four main types: * purple passion fruit (fruits of '' Passiflora edulis'' Sims), * yellow passion fruit (''Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa'' Deg.), * sweet granadilla (''

Passiflora ligularis ''Passiflora ligularis'', commonly known as the sweet granadilla or grenadia, is a plant species in the genus ''Passiflora''. It is known as ''granadilla'' in Bolivia, Colombia, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, The Azores, South Africa ...

''), * giant granadilla ('' Passiflora quadrangularis'' L.).

Uses

The part of the fruit that is used (eaten) is the pulpy juicy seeds. Passion fruits can also be squeezed to make juice.

Nutrition

Raw passion fruit is 73% water, 23%

carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may o ...

s, 2%

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

, and 1% fat (table). In a 100 gram reference amount, raw passion fruit supplies 97

calorie The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of o ...

s, and is a rich source of

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) ...

(36% of the Daily Value, DV) and a moderate source of riboflavin (11% DV),

niacin Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, is an organic compound and a form of vitamin B3, an essential human nutrient. It can be manufactured by plants and animals from the amino acid tryptophan. Niacin is obtained in the diet from a variet ...

(10% DV),

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

(12% DV), and

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...

(10% DV) (table). No other

micronutrient Micronutrients are essential dietary elements required by organisms in varying quantities throughout life to orchestrate a range of physiological functions to maintain health. Micronutrient requirements differ between organisms; for example, huma ...

s are in significant content.

Phytochemicals

Several varieties of passionfruit are rich in

polyphenol Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring organic compounds characterized by multiples of phenol units. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some ...

s, and some contain

prunasin (''R'')-prunasin is a cyanogenic glycoside related to amygdalin. Chemically, it is the glucoside of (''R'')- mandelonitrile. Natural occurrences Prunasin is found in species in the genus ''Prunus'' such as '' Prunus japonica'' or '' P. maximowi ...

and other cyanogenic glycosides in the peel and juice.

Gallery

File:Passion fruits - whole and halved.jpg, Purple passionfruit ('' Passiflora edulis'') File:Maracuyá.jpg, Yellow passionfruit ('' Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa'') File:Passiflora ligularis (14642851748).jpg, ''

'' in flower File:Sweet granadillas (Passiflora ligularis) - whole and cross section.jpg, ''Passiflora ligularis'' fruit File:Traffic-light Passion Fruit.jpg, Red, yellow, and green ''Passiflora edulis'' File:Badea.jpg, Giant granadilla ('' Passiflora quadrangularis'' L.) File:Passion fruit flower end.jpg, Passion fruit flower File:Unripe passion fruit.jpg, Unripe common passion fruit

References

{{reflist Tropical fruit