LOVE-IN-A-MIST PASSIONFRUIT Seeds | Passiflora foetida

These seeds are fresh from the fruit and are sent with a small amount of pulp/juice to ensure they remain fresh and viable and don’t dry out. Please plant immediately.  Dried seed should not be used as it can take 12 months for dried seeds to germinate.

STEP 1 - It’s best sown fresh from the pod along with the pulp which will help break down the seed coat and speed up germination.

STEP 2 - Place the seed tray in a shady position, maintaining a temperature around 19 - 24°C. Seeds should germinate within 7-14 days.

STEP 3 - Prick the seedlings out into individual containers as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant out next to a trellis when they reach 10cm tall.

Fully ripe fruit can be eaten raw and also used to make drinks. The pulp surrounding the seeds is sweet and juicy. Do not eat the under-ripe fruit since it can be toxic. The globose yellow fruit is about 2.5cm in diameter. Young leaves are also cooked and used as an ingredient in soups.

Add 7 dried leaves into a loose tea plunger, crushing them if necessary.  Add a slice of fresh ginger. Add boiling water. Allow to steep for 10 minutes. Strain. Add honey and a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice. Sip slowly. Enjoy.

The whole plant is considered to have sedative properties and is used in the treatment of neurasthenia, insomnia, nightmares and anxiety. It is also indicated for treating hypertension in the form of a decoction, fluid extract or syrup. The leaves, combined with those of the Indian Coral Tree (Erythrina variegata), are mashed and their juice extracted in a tea, then drunk in order to induce sleep or to treat sleeping disorders. The leaves are crushed in water and the solution drunk as an antidote to the bite of the Papuan Black Snake. An infusion of the leaves is used for healing wounds. Fresh young leaves are mashed and then rubbed on to the wound of a snake bite. The leaf contains substances that have possible antimicrobial activity.

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 root is antispasmodic.

The plant is used as a ground cover and as a hedge. It is said to be effective in smothering weeds.It is seldom used because it can be difficult to control and also rapidly forms a soil seed bank. Its ability to form a dense mat of growth, however, can make it useful for protecting soil from erosion or for stabilizing dunes. Substances in the leaves deter feeding insects.

The unripe fruits contain toxic cyanogenic glucosides and alkaloids, although any reports of toxicity to grazing livestock appear to be minimal.