Passiflora

Plants of the genus Passiflora are the Passionflowers, various, numerous species of tropical, or more rarely, subtropical vines with large, showy flowers, and egg-shaped fruit, popularly termed "passionfruit." The most commonly cultivated species is the Common, Purple, or Edible Passionflower, P. edulis, native to South America, which is grown for its egg-shaped, and egg-sized fruit, which, despite its common name, may sometimes be yellow. Another popular species is the Maypop, P. incarnata, which is native to the Southern United States, and is grown both as a cold-weather resistant substitute for P. edulis, and for its flowers and leaves, which are used in herbal tisanes.

The passionfruit is generally an egg-sized, egg-shaped fruit with an often fragrant rind which filled with a juicy, slimy, very sour-tasting pulp that contains many hard, but edible seeds.

In European and Native American herbalism, the flowers and leaves of various species, usually P. incarnata and P. edulis, are used primarily to treat anxiety, insomnia and epilepsy. Other uses include treatment for cough and diarrhea. Some studies demonstrate that the phytochemicals of passionflower leaf tisane will interact with sedatives, and anti-coagulants. The fruit can clear summer-heat, and moisten lung dryness.