Passionfruit Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Passion fruit

Ripe purple type from Australia and its cross section
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Passifloraceae
Genus:	Passiflora
Species:	P. edulis
Binomial name
*Passiflora edulis* Sims

The passion fruit is a small, round fruit. It is usually purple when it's ripe and green when it's not ready to eat. Inside, it has many tiny black seeds covered with a juicy, flavorful pulp. The taste is a mix of tart and sweet. You can eat the seeds and pulp by themselves, or use them in many different recipes.

Growing Passion Fruit
- How Passion Fruit Flowers are Pollinated
What Passion Fruit is Used For
Images for kids
See also

Growing Passion Fruit

Passion fruit plants are grown in warm, tropical and semitropical parts of the world. In the United States, you can find them growing in Florida and California. These plants usually need to be kept safe from frost. However, some types can survive a light frost if their affected parts are trimmed back.

How Passion Fruit Flowers are Pollinated

The flowers of the yellow passion fruit plant cannot pollinate themselves. This means they need pollen from another plant. But the purple passion fruit flowers can pollinate themselves. Tiny insects called carpenter bees are very good at pollinating passion fruit flowers. To help these bees, people sometimes place old logs near the vines. These logs give the bees a place to live.

What Passion Fruit is Used For

A passion fruit drink in Singapore

Passion fruit oil and a cut passion fruit, showing seeds

Passion fruit is loved for its amazing taste, both as a whole fruit and as juice. It's used in many ways around the world:

In Australia and New Zealand, you can buy it fresh or in cans. People add it to fruit salads. The fresh pulp or a sauce made from passion fruit is often used on desserts. This includes toppings for pavlova (a type of meringue cake) and ice cream. It's also used to flavor cheesecake and the icing on vanilla slices. There's even a passion fruit soft drink called Passiona that has been made in Australia since the 1920s.
In Brazil, passion fruit is very popular. A common dessert is passion fruit mousse. The pulp is often used to decorate cakes. Passion fruit juice, ice pops, and soft drinks are also well-liked.
In Colombia, passion fruit is one of the most important fruits. It's widely available and used for juices and desserts.
In Hawaii, it's called liliko'i. People cut it in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Liliko'i-flavored syrup is a popular topping for shave ice. It's also used to flavor desserts like malasadas, cheesecakes, and cookies.
In India, passion fruit is eaten raw with sugar. It's also used to make juice.
In South Africa, passion fruit is known as Granadilla. It's used to flavor yogurt and soft drinks. People often eat it raw or use it as a topping for cakes.