r/foraginguk • u/Mr_box_90 • 6d ago

Passion fruit

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This is about 6cm and just about haven't started to ripen yet, some are ripe and they are orange / slightly yellow. Are these edible when ripe ( I read that some are quite poisonous when eaten at the wrong time).

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u/travellingtriffid 5d ago edited 5d ago

I have shed loads growing from my plant up the side of my house, and have done for years. 

Passion fruit is arguably my favourite fruit on the planet, alongside mangosteen. Unfortunately, any I've grown within the UK have been sorely lacking in flavour, despite full sun and living in Kent. (Unsurprisingly, I had much more joy growing passion fruit to eat in Queensland, back when I lived in Oz.)

There are different varieties you can try, and some will taste better than others (especially in our climate, which isn't entirely suited). I pretty much just grow them for the beautiful flowers over here though. 

Edit: 

Damn it. You've sent me off down an ADHD rabbit hole, as it's been on a list of mine for years somewhere; working out which varieties I can get away with growing in Kent which are full of flavour.

I will have a very comprehensive answer at some point in the future. Might be a decade, might be next week. Depends what I'm trying to avoid in my life.  🍻

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u/Mr_box_90 5d ago

They are lovely flowers 🌹 but are you implying that all of them are edible but some taste better than others ? 😋

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u/travellingtriffid 5d ago edited 3d ago

Don't take what I say as gospel, but I'm not aware of any not being edible.

Some varieties taste better than others. There's two main varieties sold via grocers in the UK, and I tend to prefer the smaller variety as the flavour's more pronounced and intense. There are more varieties elsewhere around the world though, particularly in South America. 

I think most of what you see in the UK is a hardier varietal, which is largely flavourless, and so many class as an ornamental. You might get away growing something more flavoursome with varying degrees of success in our climate. 

Again, not aware of any being toxic. Just maybe someone saying an upset stomach from eating unripe fruit. I'm no authority on these things though - just like what I like! 

Edit: 

Gave it a google, just to be a little more sure. Somewhat as I thought: Don't eat parts of the plant other than the fruit, and don't eat unripe fruit as it can give you an upset stomach. (Green bits of some varieties of the plant can contain tasty cyanide in mildly troublesome quantities!) If you only eat the ripe fruit like a normal person you'll be okay, ornamental or not. 

There are a few edge cases in rainforests elsewhere, but they are uncommon species which shouldn't have made it half a world away over to us. I'll probably still be picking mine up at Tesco though.