''Passiflora quadrangularis'', the giant granadilla, barbadine (

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

), grenadine (

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

), giant tumbo or badea (), is a species of plant in the family Passifloraceae. It produces the largest fruit of any species within the genus ''

Passiflora ''Passiflora'', known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 550 species of flowering plants, the type genus of the family Passifloraceae. ''Passiflora'' species are widely cultivated for their striking flowers, fla ...

''. It is a perennial climber native to the

Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeog ...

Description

Passiflora quadrangularis the giant granadilla 01

It is a vigorous, tender evergreen perennial climber with nodding red flowers, each surrounded by white and purple filaments. It has smooth, cordate, ovate or

acuminate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

leaves;

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

s bearing from 4 to 6 glands; an

emetic Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, preg ...

and

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

root; scented

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s; and a large, oblong fruit, up to 12 inches (30 cm) in length. containing numerous seeds, embedded in a subacid edible pulp.

Uses

The badea is sometimes grown in

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

s. The fruits of several other species of Passiflora are eaten. '' P. laurifolia'' is the water lemon and '' P. maliformis'' the sweet calabash of the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. The fruit juice of the badea is used as a beverage. In some parts of Sri Lanka the fruit, where it is known as ටං ටිං (), රට පුහුල් or ටුං ටුං, is cooked as a vegetable curry, and the seeds are consumed as a snack or used to extract juice. A tea is made from the leaves which is used for

high blood pressure Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...

and

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

. A drink and ice-cream are made from the fruit.

Ornamental

''Passiflora quadrangularis'' is also grown as an ornamental. Requiring a minimum temperature of , in temperate zones it must be grown under glass. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

References

Gallery

Passiflora quadrangularis-IMG 4481.jpg Passiflora quadrangularis (2944484362).jpg Badea.jpg Flore des serres et des jardins de l'Europe (8594787963).jpg, Louis van Houtte,1853

External links

*Mendes, John. (1986). ''Cote ce Cote la: Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary''.

Arima Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of the ...