Sweet granadilla

Names and Synonyms

Common Names

• sweet granadilla

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Granadilla ligularis

Regional and Traditional Names

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant belongs to the kingdom Plantae and the phylum Streptophyta, falling under the class Equisetopsida and subclass Magnoliidae. Within the order Malpighiales, it is classified under the family Passifloraceae. It is specifically identified by the genus Passiflora, with its species designation being Passiflora ligularis.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a remarkably broad and diverse geographical distribution across several distinct regions. In South Tropical Africa, it can be found specifically within Zimbabwe, while its presence extends to Eastern Asia in Taiwan. The species is also documented within the Indian Subcontinent, particularly in Sri Lanka. Moving toward the Malesia region, it inhabits the island of Jawa. Finally, its range reaches as far as the North-Central Pacific in Hawaii.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Ecology

The ecology of Passiflora ligularis is characterized by its adaptation to specific altitudinal gradients within its native habitats, thriving primarily in montane environments. This species occupies a significant vertical niche, maintaining a presence across a broad elevational range that extends from a minimum of 1,000 m AMSL to a maximum of 3,000 m AMSL. This wide distribution suggests a high degree of environmental plasticity, allowing the plant to survive varying temperature regimes and atmospheric pressures associated with mid-to-high altitude tropical or subtropical mountain ecosystems. Its ability to inhabit these diverse elevations indicates a specialized role within the local biodiversity, likely interacting with a variety of pollinators and climbing structures found throughout these stratified forest zones.

Elevational range max:

3000 m AMSL

Elevational range min:

1000 m AMSL

Genetics

The genetics of Passiflora ligularis are characterized by a specific karyotypic configuration, most notably defined by a chromosome number of 18. This diploid number serves as a fundamental cytogenetic marker for the species, influencing its reproductive mechanisms and evolutionary divergence within the Passifloraceae family. The stability of this chromosomal set plays a critical role in the plant's genomic architecture, governing the inheritance patterns of various morphological and physiological traits. Such genetic parameters are essential for understanding the species' potential for hybridization and its ability to maintain genetic diversity across different ecological niches.

Chromosome number :

18

Life history

The life history of Passiflora ligularis is characterized by its nature as a perennial plant, allowing it to persist through multiple growing seasons and establish a long-term presence in its natural habitat. Throughout its development, the plant maintains an evergreen status, ensuring that its foliage remains functional and intact rather than undergoing a seasonal shedding process. This combination of a perennial lifecycle and evergreen deciduousness enables the species to maintain continuous photosynthetic activity, supporting its growth and reproductive cycles over an extended period.

Deciduousness :

evergreen

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Passiflora ligularis is characterized by its growth habit as a non-woody, obligatory climbing liana. This plant reaches a significant stature, with an average height of approximately 5 meters. It functions as an independent organism rather than a parasite and is strictly terrestrial in its ecological niche, lacking epiphytic tendencies.

Aquatic :

terrestrial

Climber :

liana

Climber :

obligatory

Epiphyte :

terrestrial

Parasite :

independent

Plant height mean:

5 m

Woodiness :

non-woody

Physiology

The physiological characteristics of Passiflora ligularis are prominently defined by its vegetative morphology and nutrient acquisition processes. The plant's foliar development exhibits significant variability in size, with leaf lengths ranging from a minimum of 10 cm to a maximum of 22 cm. Complementing this longitudinal variation, the leaf width fluctuates between 7 cm and 17 cm, contributing to a robust photosynthetic surface area. In terms of metabolic nitrogen cycling, the plant does not function as a nitrogen fixer, meaning it relies on the uptake of available nitrogen from the soil through its root system rather than through symbiotic biological nitrogen fixation.

Leaf length max:

22 cm

Leaf length min:

10 cm

Leaf width max:

17 cm

Leaf width min:

7 cm

Nitrogen fixer :

no

Reproduction

The reproduction of Passiflora ligularis is characterized by the development of a fruit classified as a berry, which serves as the vessel for its seeds. This fruit type is indehiscent, meaning that it does not spontaneously split open at maturity to release its contents; instead, the seeds are contained within the fleshy structure until the fruit decays or is consumed by fauna.

Dehiscence :

indehiscent

Fruit type :

berry

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Plant Parts

Passiflora ligularis has 2 reported plant parts identified across 2 scientific publications and several other databases that are studied for medicinal purposes. The most consistently reported plant part include fruit, leaf.

Fruit

1. International scholarly research notices

Leaf

1. Nutrients

Chemicals

Passiflora ligularis has 11 reported phytochemicals identified across 2 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include Ash, CALCIUM, FAT, IRON, PHOSPHORUS.

Ash

1. Dr. Duke

CALCIUM

1. Dr. Duke

FAT

1. Dr. Duke

IRON

1. Dr. Duke

PHOSPHORUS

1. Dr. Duke

ascorbic acid

1. Dr. Duke

beta-carotene

1. Dr. Duke

niacin

1. Dr. Duke

riboflavin

1. Dr. Duke

thiamin

1. Dr. Duke

Activities

Passiflora ligularis has 208 reported activities identified across 2 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antioxidant, Antidiabetic, Hypolipidemic, Acidulant, Aldose-Reductase-Inhibitor.

Antioxidant

1. Dr. Duke
2. International scholarly research notices
3. Nutrients

Antidiabetic

1. Dr. Duke
2. International scholarly research notices

Hypolipidemic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Nutrients

Acidulant

1. Dr. Duke

Aldose-Reductase-Inhibitor

1. Dr. Duke

Allergenic

1. Dr. Duke

Analgesic

1. Dr. Duke

Androgenic?

1. Dr. Duke

Angiotensin-Receptor-Blocker

1. Dr. Duke

AntiAGE

1. Dr. Duke

Conditions

Passiflora ligularis has 4 reported investigations on conditions identified across 2 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported conditions include Diabetes mellitus, blood glucose, neurological disorders, oxidative stress.

Diabetes mellitus

1. International scholarly research notices

Blood glucose

1. International scholarly research notices

Neurological disorders

1. International scholarly research notices

Oxidative stress

1. International scholarly research notices

Preparations

Passiflora ligularis has 3 reported preparations identified across 2 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported preparations include aqueous extract, aqueous fruit extract, ethanolic extract.

Aqueous extract

1. International scholarly research notices
2. Nutrients

Aqueous fruit extract

1. International scholarly research notices

Ethanolic extract

1. Nutrients