Passiflora pinnatistipula
Common name
yellow passionfruit
Family
Passifloraceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Lianes & Related Trailing Plants - Dicotyledons
Conservation status
Not applicable
Habitat
Cultivation escape, scrub and forest margins.
Detailed description
Vigorous vine. Stems with pinnate stipules. Leaves 3-lobed, up to about 12 cm long. Flowers have hypanthium up to 5 cm long, petals pink spreading to reveal an obvious ‘skirt’ of violet-blue corona threads. Fruit are round and yellow when ripe.
Similar taxa
When flowering or fruiting this species is obvious due to the round yellow fruit or the pink flowers with purple corona threads. Otherwise the pinnate stipules are distinctive. Very similar to the hybrid P. x rosea but this has lanceolate stipules, and the stamens are usually abnormal.
Flowering
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Flower colours
Red/Pink, Violet/Purple
Life cycle
Reproduces by seed and possibly vegetatively through stem layering; birds eat fruit and disperse seeds.
Year naturalised
1982
Origin
Northern Andes
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Tolerances
Tolerant to cold temperatures, prefers high light and high soil fertility.
Etymology
passiflora: Passionflower
National Pest Plant Accord species
This plant is listed in the 2020 National Pest Plant Accord. The National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA) is an agreement to prevent the sale and/or distribution of specified pest plants where either formal or casual horticultural trade is the most significant way of spreading the plant in New Zealand. For up to date information and an electronic copy of the 2020 Pest Plant Accord manual (including plant information and images) visit the MPI website.
References and further reading
Heenan, P.B. and Sykes, W.R. 2003. Passiflora (Passifloraceae) in New Zealand: a revised key with notes on distribution. New Zealand Journal of Botany 41: 217-221. DOI: 10.1080/0028825X.2003.9512842