''Passiflora tetrandra'' is a climbing

vine A vine ( Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") 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 thems ...

found in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. The

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

name for the plant is kōhia. Other common names include New Zealand passionflower and New Zealand passionfruit. Of the c.500 species of

passionflower ''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 (biology), family Passifloraceae. They are mostly tendril, tendril-bearing vines, with some b ...

, this is the sole representative from New Zealand and

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to New Zealand. Passiflora tetrandra by Tim Park

Kōhia is a forest vine, climbing up to 10m (33 feet). Leaves are alternate, broadly lanceolate, green, shiny, and untoothed. Flowers are small, white to yellow, in groups of 1–3 in the axils of the leaves. Flowers appear between October and December. Plants are

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...

: fruit may not be produced without female-flowering plants being fertilised with pollen from separate a male-flowering plants. Fruits can be found from summer to autumn; are lemon-shaped, orange, up to 30mm (1.2 inches) long. The fruit can be eaten by people and is a traditional food for Māori: the gum from the stem was also chewed. Propagation is from seed or cutting. Cultivation requirements are basic: vines need a support structure/tree and a cool root run in a reasonable soil. Naturewatch New Zealand
/ref>

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7142637 tetrandra Dioecious plants Endemic flora of New Zealand Vines Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle