Passiflora foetida

Passiflora foetida

The stinking passionflower or wild maracuja, bush passion fruit, wild water lemon, stoneflower, love-in-a-mist, running pop (Passiflora foetida L., 1753) is a shrub species belonging to the Passifloraceae family.

Systematic –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Division Magnoliophyta,
Class Magnoliopsida,
Violales Order,
Passifloraceae family,
Genus Passiflora,
Species P. foetida.
The terms are synonymous:
– Decaloba obscura (Lindl.) M.Roem.;
– Dysosmia fluminensis M.Roem.;
– Dysosmia foetida (L.) M.Roem.;
– Dysosmia hircina Sweet;
– Dysosmia hircina Sweet ex M.Roem.;
– Dysosmia polyadena (Vell.) M.Roem.;
– Granadilla foetida (L.) Gaertn.;
– Passiflora balansae Chodat;
– Passiflora ciliata var. polyadena Griseb.;
– Passiflora foetida Vell.;
– Passiflora foetida f. glabra A.Fern. & R.Fern.;
– Passiflora foetida f. latifolia Kuntze;
– Passiflora foetida f. suberecta Chodat & Hassl.;
– Passiflora foetida subsp. polyadena (Griseb.) Borhidi;
– Passiflora foetida var. ellisonii Vanderpl.;
– Passiflora foetida var. fluminensis (M.Roem.) Killip;
– Passiflora foetida var. gardneri Killip;
– Passiflora foetida var. glaziovii Killip;
– Passiflora foetida var. gossypiifolia Kuntze;
– Passiflora foetida var. longipedunculata Killip;
– Passiflora foetida var. muralis (Barb.Rodr.) Killip;
– Passiflora foetida var. pectinata Holtze;
– Passiflora foetida var. polyadena (Griseb.) Killip;
– Passiflora foetida var. polyadenia (Griseb.) Killip;
– Passiflora foetida var. sericea Chodat & Hassl.;
– Passiflora foetida var. tainaniana Y.C.Liu & C.H.Ou;
– Passiflora hermannii DC.;
– Passiflora muralis Barb.Rodr.;
– Passiflora obscura Lindl.;
– Passiflora polyadena Vell.;
– Passiflora variegata Mill.;
– Tripsilina foetida (L.) Raf..
The following subspecies and varieties are recognized within this species:
– Passiflora foetida subsp. foetida;
– Passiflora foetida subsp. tainaniana Y.-C.Liu & C.-H.Ou;
– Passiflora foetida var. acapulcensis Killip;
– Passiflora foetida var. foetida;
– Passiflora foetida var. glaziouvii Killip;
– Passiflora foetida var. gossypiifolia (Desv. ex Ham.) Mast.;
– Passiflora foetida var. hirsuta (L.) Mast.;
– Passiflora foetida var. moritziana (Planch.) Killip ex Pulle;
– Passiflora foetida var. nigelliflora (Hook.) Mast.;
– Passiflora foetida var. oaxacana Killip;
– Passiflora foetida var. strigosa S.Moore;
– Passiflora foetida var. tepicana Killip.

Etymology –
The term Passiflora comes from the Latin “passio, -onis”, passion and “flos, -oris”, flower, i.e. Passion flower, due to its appearance which recalls the symbols of the Passion of Christ.
The specific epithet foetida comes from the Latin “foetidus, a, um”, that is, fetid, malodorous, stinky, in reference to the odor given off by the leaves.

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Passiflora foetida is a plant native to Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica, Grenada, Guadalupe, Guatemala, Guyana, French Guiana , Hispaniola, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico (Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatan and Zacatecas), Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, St Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, U.S.A. (Arizona and Texas) and Venezuela. It has been introduced to tropical regions around the world, such as Southeast Asia, South Asia, Hawaii, Africa, and the Maldives.
Its natural growth habitat is that of the edges of humid forests, along the banks of watercourses, rocky slopes and disturbed areas up to approximately 1000 m above sea level. It has also naturalized in the South Pacific, where it is common along roadsides, forest edges, agricultural fields, and coastal woodlands from sea level to 200 meters.

Description –
Passiflora foetida is a shrubby, climbing, perennial plant with thin, ivy-like and branched stems, covered with sticky yellow hairs.
The leaves are carried by a petiole up to 6 cm long without glands, they are alternate, hairy, 5-9 cm long and 3-8 cm wide, with 3-5 lobes very variable in shape, with a central lobe slightly longer than the lateral and margins entire or slightly toothed.
The stipules (appendages at the base of the petiole which have the task of protecting the leaf in the first stages of development) are often deeply divided into thread-like segments equipped with apical glands; the crumpled leaves give off a penetrating odor considered by many to be unpleasant.
The flowers are hermaphroditic and are located in the axillary position; they are solitary, 2-5 cm in diameter, white, pink or purple in colour, on a 3-6 cm long peduncle, subtended by 3 prominent pale green bracts, 1-3-pinnate with filiform segments equipped with apical glands , corolla with 5 ovate-oblong sepals and 5 oblong or oblong-lanceolate petals slightly shorter than the sepals, crown with two series of purple filaments with white ends about 1 cm long. The flowers open at first light and close in the late morning; they are self-compatible, but present the phenomenon of protandry (the male organs mature before the female ones) which favors cross-pollination.
The fruit is an indehiscent berry (which does not open spontaneously when ripe), globose or subglobose, enclosed in persistent pinnate bracts, 2-3 cm in diameter, yellow to red in color when ripe.
Inside there are numerous ovate-cuneiform seeds about 0.5 cm long; the ripe fruits are edible, in particular the whitish and fragrant pulp that surrounds the seeds.

Cultivation –
Passiflora foetida is a plant with leaves with an unpleasant scent (when stepped on) with stems that climb the ground or creep into the surrounding vegetation, supporting themselves by means of twisted tendrils.
The fruit is harvested in the wild and consumed locally, but is not highly prized due to its small size.
However, the plant is cultivated for its fruit in some tropical areas of America, Africa and Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam) while it is considered a weed in many parts of the tropics.
Furthermore, it is also grown as an ornamental plant.
It is a typical plant of the area ranging from warm temperate climates to the tropics of North and South America. The plants are not very frost tolerant and can be killed by temperatures dropping to around 3°C. They require a temperature no lower than approximately 16°C during flowering to ensure fruit set.
From a pedological point of view they require soil rich in humus, moist but well drained and a shaded position, with a pH around neutral as they do not like very acidic or very alkaline conditions.
All Passifloras tend to flower and bear fruit more freely if grown in moderately fertile soil.
The plants are very tolerant of pruning and, if necessary, can be cut back to ground level to rejuvenate the plant.
Furthermore, the plant can flower and produce fruit all year round.
It is a fast-growing species that can be used as a climber or ground cover on various types of soil, including rocky and stony; it adapts well to pot cultivation in a very bright position, with minimum winter temperatures preferably not lower than 14 °C, watering must be regular and abundant in summer, in winter the substratum must be kept slightly humid.
The plant reproduces by seed, possibly scarified and kept in water for two days to favor germination, in sandy loam rich in organic substance, kept humid at a temperature of 22-24 °C, with variable germination times, even long, and easily for cutting and layering.

Customs and Traditions –
Passiflora foetida is a plant known by various common names, including: fit weed, love-in-a-mist, love-in-a-mist passionflower, mossy passionflower, running pop, stinking granadilla, stinking passionflower, stinking passionfruit, wild passionfruit, wild water-melon (English); Marie-goujat (French); maracujà da pedra, maracujà de cobra, maracujàde lagartinho, maracujà de cheiro (Portuguese – Brazil); bombillo, clavellin blanco, injito colorado, granadilla de culebra, granadilla sylvestre, parked culebra, pasiflora hedionda, tagua-tagua (Spanish); stinkende grenadille (German).
This plant has leaves that give off an unpleasant scent and an edible fruit.
The dried leaves are used in Vietnam to prepare herbal teas against insomnia.
In the Philippines, the fruit is known colloquially as marya-marya (“Little Mary”), kurombot, utot-utot, and santo papa (due to its resemblance to the Pope’s miter). The young leaves and tips of the plants are also edible. The dried leaves are used in tea in Vietnamese folk medicine to relieve sleep problems, as well as to treat itching and cough.
It is an extremely variable and widespread plant, it has a very long list of synonyms.
Passiflora foetida has been mentioned as a toxic plant by farmers in northeastern Brazil. An experiment conducted with goats led to the discovery that high levels of cyanide in P. foetida cause poisoning after ingestion of fresh leaves, especially during the dry season.
Although unripe fruits contain toxic cyanogenic glucosides and alkaloids, reporting of toxicity to grazing livestock appears to be minimal.
From an ecological point of view it is a larval host and a nectar source for Agraulis vanillae.
P. foetida is able to trap insects on its bracts, which exude a sticky substance that also contains digestive enzymes. This minimizes predation on flowers and young fruit. It is not clear whether or not it draws nourishment from its prey, and it is considered a protocarnivorous plant.
Other uses include agroforestry.
The plant is used as a ground cover and as a hedge, and is said to be effective in smothering weeds.
It is currently rarely used because it can be difficult to control and also quickly forms a seed bank in the soil.
Its ability to form a dense growth mat, however, can make it useful for protecting soil from erosion or stabilizing dunes.
Furthermore, the substances present in the leaves discourage insect feeding.

Preparation Method –
Passiflora foetida is a plant used for various purposes.
In the food sector, fully ripe fruits are used, consumed raw and also used to prepare drinks, etc.
You eat the pulp surrounding the seeds which is sweet and juicy.
However, the consumption of unripe fruits is not recommended as they can be toxic.
The young leaves are cooked and used as an ingredient in soups.
In the medicinal field, the fresh, whole plant is boiled and the liquid used as an anthelmintic for children, against intestinal nematodes and flatworms.
A decoction of the dried plant is drunk to treat colds and chest coughs. It is also used in the treatment of tuberculosis, worms and against coughs and colds.
The fluid, squeezed from the leaves and stem, is used to improve fertility in women.
The root is antispasmodic.
The entire plant is believed to have sedative properties and is used in the treatment of neurasthenia, insomnia, nightmares, and anxiety. It is also indicated in the treatment of hypertension in the form of a decoction, fluid extract or syrup.
The leaves, combined with those of Erythrina variegata, are crushed and their juice extracted and then drunk to induce sleep or to treat sleep disorders.
The leaves are crushed in water and the solution drunk as an antidote to the bite of the Papuan black snake.
An infusion of the leaves is used to treat wounds.
The leaf contains substances that have possible antimicrobial activity.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora d’Italia, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.

Photo source:
– https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/307435656/original.jpeg

Attention: Pharmaceutical applications and food uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not represent in any way a medical prescription; we therefore decline any responsibility for their use for healing, aesthetic or food purposes.