THE PASSION FRUIT.

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This fruit is very closely related to the granadilla, but is much hardier than it, and can be grown to perfection much further South. It is not injured by frost to any extent in any part of coastal Queensland, and can be grown a considerable distance inland. It is more rightly a semi-tropical than a tropical fruit, though, as it is so nearly related to the granadilla, I have included it amongst the tropical fruits. It is also a vine, and, when grown commercially, is trained along a horizontal trellis, in a somewhat similar manner to a grape vine. It is readily grown from seed, and will produce fruit in less than twelve months from the time that it is planted, and will continue to bear fruit for some years. It does best on a free, warm soil of fair quality, though it may be grown anywhere with care, and often thrives well in very poor soils with the addition of manure. It is found growing wild on the borders of many of our scrubs and elsewhere, the seeds having been deposited by birds or other agencies, and under such conditions it produces an abundance of fruit. The fruit is of a roundish oval shape, and is of a dark-purple colour. It is about the size of a large hen's egg, the outer skin being hard and shell-like, and the centre filled with the seeds, which are surrounded with a jelly-like mass and a yellowish pulp. It is a very fine flavoured fruit, and is universally liked. It is grown in considerable quantities in the Southern part of the State, and is one of our commonest fruits. It has usually two crops a year—a summer and a winter crop—but can be got to produce its fruit at any particular time that is desired by systematic pruning at different times of the year. It is often grown over sheds, dead trees, fallen logs, &c., which it covers with a mass of dense green foliage, and converts what would otherwise be an unsightly object into an ornament. The illustration herewith shows this well, and gives a good idea of the growth of a single vine. Commercially it is grown on trellis, so that the land between the rows can be kept well cultivated, and also to permit of ease in the gathering of the fruit. When ripe, the fruit drops, and the gathering is usually from the ground. The fruit carries well, but will not keep for any length of time, as it shrivels up. It is principally used as a fresh fruit, though it is also made into jam or jelly, and it often forms part of a fruit salad, taking the place of the granadilla. It has few pests, and is one of the easiest fruits to grow.


Passion Fruit, Redland Bay—Showing method of culture (1) and part of a vine in fruit (2).


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