Passiflora foetida L.

Taxonomy: Plantae > Tracheophyta > Equisetopsida > Malpighiales > Passifloraceae > Passiflora > P. foetida

Description: A vine with densely hispid branchlets. Leaves usually 3-5-lobed to halfway, sub-orbicular -ovate, appressed glandular-pubescent, base cordate, margin subentire to ciliate, apex acute; stipules sub-reniform, deeply cleft into glandular processes. Flowers about 4 cm across, axillary, often solitary; bract and bracteoles 2-3 cm, deeply pinnateisect, glandular -pubescent. Calyx tube short, saucer shaped, lobes ovate-lanceolate. Petals slightly shorter than the calyx lobes. Androgynophore 4-6 mm. Ovary globose. Fruit berry, sub-globose, approximately 4 cm across.

Flowering and Fruiting : July - October

Uses :Fully ripe fruit - raw. Sweet and juicy. Leaves - cooked. Used as an ingredient in soups .The fresh, whole plant is boiled and the liquid used as a children's anthelmintic, for intestinal nematodes and flatworms .A decoction of the dried plant is drunk to treat colds and chest coughs. It is also used in the treatment of tuberculosis, worms, and for coughs and colds . Fluid, pressed from the leaves and stem, is used to improve fertility in women. The leaf contains substances that have possible antimicrobial activity. The plant is used as a ground cover and as a hedge. Substances in the leaves deter feeding insects.

Cultivation : Cultivated, Wild

References

http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org

https://indiabiodiversity.org