Banana passionfruit
Botanical Name
Passiflora ‘Tacsonia’ subgroup
Family
Passifloraceae (passionfruit)
Also known as
Banana passion flower, wild blue-crown, wild passion vine. Both spp virtually identical in appearance and characteristics.
Where is it originally from?
Latin America
What does it look like?
Vigorous, evergreen, high-climbing vines (<10 m) with long, densely hairy stems which are angular when young, and which have many spiralling tendrils. Leaves are 3-lobed (each lobe 5-14 cm long) with middle lobe the longest, edges serrated, and undersides covered in down. From Jan-Dec pink hanging flowers (7 cm diameter) with central tube (60-95 mm long) are followed by hanging, thin-skinned fruit (7-12 x 2-4 cm) ripening from green to yellow or orange, with sweet edible orange pulp and dark red seeds (4-6 mm long).
Are there any similar species?
P. pinnatastipula, P. antioquiensis, P. caerulea (qv), P. edulis (qv).
Why is it weedy?
Grows to medium-high canopy, where it forms large masses. Grows rapidly in most soil types, and produces highly viable seed in two years. Partly tolerant to shade, damage and drought, and stems root where they touch the ground.
How does it spread?
Birds, feral pigs and possums carry seeds some distance. Also humans (via eating or discarded fruit). Hedges, orchards, exotic plantations, waste land, gardens, roadsides.
What damage does it do?
Smothers canopy, prevents native plants from establishing. Allows faster-growing or tougher vines to succeed it in dominating canopy. Appears in light wells away from parent plant.
Which habitats is it likely to invade?
Disturbed and open forest, light wells and margins of intact bush, streamsides, coastline, cliffs, consolidated sand dunes, inshore islands.
What can I do to get rid of it?
1. Pull roots up (all year round): Cut off above ground or tie stems in air to prevent them forming roots on contact with soil.
2. Cut trunk and paint stump (all year round): cut trunk near to the ground, and swab freshly cut stump with metsulfuron-methyl 600g/kg (1g/L) or a product containing 100g picloram+300g triclopyr/L (100ml/L) or triclopyr 600g/L (100ml/L) or a product containing 200g 2,4-D+100g dicamba/L (200ml/L).
