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Wild Water Lemon
Passiflora foetida
Small yellow to orange passion fruit with a flavor similar to the common passion fruit.
Seed Availability
Seeds are now available at our seed store.
Description
Fast-growing vine, particularly in warm, wet, tropical regions. Grow like most passion vines. The leaves give off a fetid odor but the flowers have a pleasant minty smell. Fruits are small and grow to about an inch. There are red and yellow ripening types.
Hardiness
Hardy to temperatures in the upper 30's.
Growing Environment
N/A
Propagation
Usually grown by seeds.
Germination Info
It is recommended to pretreat Passiflora seeds before planting. They contain a hard seed coat and are very slow to sprout. There are various pretreatment methods, but the simplest is to soak the seeds for 24-48 hours in warm to the touch water, just prior to planting. Optionally, seeds can be lightly scarified with sand paper to provide some permeation on the seed coat.
Once pretreated, plant seeds 1/2-1" deep in moist, sterile soil. Keep soil temperature consistent at 70-85F, with some day/variation in this range. Cool soils will significantly delay seed germination time if not inhibit germination altogether. Standard room temperature can be too cool for proper germination.
Estimated germination time under optimal conditions: 4 weeks to 6 months.
Uses
Usually eaten fresh or used to flavor drinks. The fruit, flowers and leaves have a variety of medicinal properties.
Native Range
Native to tropical America. Has now spread throughout the tropics in America, Asia, and the Pacific Islands where it is an invasive weed.