From the Horticultural Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida
Passionfruit Varieties
There are numerous
local selections of passion fruit in Florida, with most of them being
hybrids between yellow and purple types (e.g., cultivars ‘Panama Red’,
‘Purple Possum’, and ‘Bounty’). Commercial producers have typically
selected their own superior seedlings for scions that they vegetatively
propagate via rooted cuttings or that they graft onto a rootstock. A
passion fruit cultivar can be evaluated for characteristics that
include fruit size, appearance, disease resistance, quantity of pulp or
juice, pulp-to-skin ratio, flavor, sugar and acid concentration, and
aromatic qualities. There is limited information about cultivar
characteristics, although what is known is listed below.
‘Possum Purple’
A
seedling selection from Possum Trot Nursery is the most widely grown
and propagated cultivar in south Florida (Figure 14). The flowers are
self-compatible. The peel has a medium-dark purple color with numerous
light dots covering the surface. Fruit are 2.5 to 3.5 inches long and
~2 inches in diameter. The fruit have a pleasant aroma and the juice
has a sweet, moderately strong flavor. Flowering to harvest takes 70–75
days.
Fig. 1
‘Panama Red’
As
the name suggests, ‘Panama Red’ has a red peel color when ripe. It is
oval in shape. It is likely selected by Australian producers for higher
yields. The fruit can be larger than ‘Possum Purple’ and have a similar
flavor profile.
Fig. 2
‘Sweet Sunrise’
The
‘Sweet Sunrise’ variety is a yellow type with fruit about the size of a
baseball. It is currently sold by nurseries in southern Florida.
Fig. 3
‘Whitman Yellow’
A
seedling selected by William Whitman, a long-time and well-known
tropical fruit enthusiast intimately involved in tropical fruit culture
in south Florida.
Fig. 4
Additional
cultivars from Hawaii and Australia may not be currently available in
south Florida. Those of interest include ‘Australian Purple’, ‘Don’s
Choice’, ‘Frederick’, ‘McGuffy’, ‘Misty Gem’, ‘Nellie Kelly’, ‘Panama’,
‘Pandora’, ‘Pink Cheek’, ‘Pratt Hybrid’, ‘Red Flemenco’, ‘Red Rover’,
‘Sweetheart’, ‘Tas Black’, ‘Toms Special’, and ‘Waimanalo Selection’.
Yellow cultivars include ‘Kapoho Selection’, ‘Mike’s Choice’, ‘Panama
Gold’, ‘Sevcik Selection’, ‘University Round Selection’, ‘University
Selection No. B-74’, ‘Whitman’, and ‘Yee Selection’.
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Bibliography
Bailey, Mark, et al. "The Passion Fruit in Florida." Horticultural Sciences Dept., UF/IFAS Extension, Original pub. Jan. 2021, AskIFAS, edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1406. Accessed 11 Feb. 2021.
Photographs
Fig. 1 Crane, Jonathan. "'Possum Purple' fruit." The Passion Fruit in Florida, Horticultural Sciences Dept., UF/IFAS Extension, Original pub. Jan. 2021, AskIFAS, edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1406. Accessed 15 Feb. 2021.
Fig. 2 Bailey, Mark. "'Panama Red' fruit." The Passion Fruit in Florida, Horticultural Sciences Dept., UF/IFAS Extension, Original pub. Jan. 2021, AskIFAS, edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1406. Accessed 15 Feb. 2021.
Fig. 3 "'Sweet Sunrise' passion fruit." Top Tropicals, The Passion Fruit in Florida, Horticultural Sciences Dept., UF/IFAS Extension, Original pub. Jan. 2021, AskIFAS, edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1406. Accessed 15 Feb. 2021.
Fig. 4 Crane, Jonathan. "'Whitman Yellow' passion fruit." The Passion Fruit in Florida, Horticultural Sciences Dept., UF/IFAS Extension, Original pub. Jan. 2021, AskIFAS, edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1406. Accessed 15 Feb. 2021.
Published 15 Feb. 2021 LR
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