''Passiflora laurifolia'', commonly known as the water lemon, Jamaican honeysuckle, golden bellapple, pomme liane on

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

and orange lilikoi (not to be confused with yellow lilikoi, or simply lilikoi, is the name given to ''passiflora edulis v. flavicarpa'' for the valley where it first grew in Hawai'i), is a species in the family

Passifloraceae The Passifloraceae are a family of flowering plants, containing about 750 species classified in around 27 genera. They include trees, shrubs, lianas, and climbing plants, and are mostly found in tropical regions. The family takes its name from t ...

. It is native to tropical

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, and has spread to other parts of the world. As a tropical species, water lemon will not tolerate any

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

. Water lemon is only occasionally cultivated, but the fruits are usually available in markets wherever the

vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

grows in wild. It is not widely known outside those regions. The fruit is medium-sized, ovoid in shape, about long with a diameter of , with a green or deep orange skin and white-yellow, extremely juicy

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit * Pulp (band), an English rock band Engineering * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture ...

. The water lemon has an excellent mild, perfumed taste, without the tartness of the common

Passionfruit ''Passiflora edulis'', commonly known as passion fruit, is a vine species of passion flower native to the region of southern Brazil through Paraguay to northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its ...

. It grows on a vigorous vine up to 30 feet long. Growing better in slightly humid climates, the vine is not particular about soil or water requirements, other than liking ground moisture year-round. It is almost always grown from seeds, but can be propagated by cuttings. Bottom-heating the seeds at can result in

germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, ...

at 1–2 weeks; at lower temperatures, seeds can take up to 10 weeks to germinate. The fruits are eaten fresh, or used in drinks and beverages. Waterlemon Cay in the Virgin Islands is named after the fruit. Passiflora laurifolia flower

References

laurifolia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Passifloraceae-stub