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= Passiflora ligularis =

Passiflora ligularis, commonly known as the sweet granadilla or grenadia, is a plant species in the Passiflora genus. It is known as granadilla in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru; granadilla común in Guatemala; granadilla de China or parchita amarilla in Venezuela and granaditta in Jamaica.

Description
The epithet ligularis comes from the plant's ligulate corollae. It is native to the Andes Mountains, mainly Peru, including Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. It grows as far south as northern Argentina and as far north as Mexico. Outside of its native range it grows in the tropical mountains of Africa and Australia (where they are known as passionfruit or Granadilla), and is now common in local markets of Papua New Guinea, where it is known as 'sugar fruit'. They have abundant, simple leaves and greenish-white flowers. The fruit is orange to yellow colored with small light markings. It has a round shape with a tip ending in the stem. The fruit is between 6.5 and 8 cm long and between 5.1 and 7 cm in diameter. The outer shell is hard and slippery, and has soft padding on the interior to protect the seeds. The seeds, which are hard and black, are surrounded by a gelatinous sphere of transparent pulp. The pulp is the edible part of the fruit and has a soft sweet taste. It is very aromatic and contains vitamins A, C, and K, phosphorus, iron, and calcium. The main producers are Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil (where it is known as maracujá doce or "sweet passionfruit"), South Africa, Rwanda and Kenya. The main importers are the United States, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Spain. Passiflora ligularis, is an evergreen climbing shrub, producing stems of up to 5 meters long. The stems scramble over the ground or clamber into the surrounding vegetation, attaching themselves by means of coiling tendrils. The leaves of the sweet granadilla plant are about 8-20 cm long and 6-15 cm wide, pointed at the apex and heart-shaped. Conspicuously veined, medium green on the upper surface and pale green on the underside. Along the petioles there are about 3 hairlike glands. At the leaf axils, there are paired, leaflike stipules, ovate-oblong and about 2.5 cm long and a little over 1.25 cm wide. In order for the plant to thrive, it requires well drained soil and a pH of 6 - 7, being able to tolerate a pH of 5.1 - 7.5. It can grow in infertile soils, but the plant will not withstand salinity. The plants in these genus are resistant to the honey fungus. Among the many Andean passion fruits, the demand for the sweet granadilla is very high, with Colombia being the main producer and consumer. Colombia regularly provides small quantities to the international market for a very high price.

History
Passiflora was first noticed by the Spanish in the 1500s. The first report of the Passiflora species was made in 1553, by Pedro Cieza de León during the Spanish colonial period in South America. In 1574, a Spanish botanist with the name of Nicolás Monads, suggested the plant symbolized the passion of christ, hence Carl Linnaeus named the genus Passiflora in 1753. Since Linnaeu's publication, where he described 24 passiflora species, more than 500 species have been found and the number keeps increasing. Since then, Passiflora ligularis has been introduced to many areas around the world. It has been introduced and cultivated in India, east and southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand and several Pacific islands, and is invasive in  Haiti, Jamaica, Hawaii, Singapore, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, the Galapagos Islands and Samoa. In New Caledonia it is a declared noxious weed and its introduction is prohibited. The plant can affect farming by smothering vegetation and impeding access, and can be poisonous or unpalatable to livestock. Introductions to Israel, Italy and California, and growth trials in Sicily, were unsuccessful.

Climate
It likes climates ranging from 15° to 18° C and between 600 and 1000 mm of annual rain. It lives at altitudes ranging from 1700 to 2600 meters above sea level. It is naturally adapted to high rainforests.

Nutritional Properties
Proximate nutrient composition of the pulp and seeds together per 100g of an edible portion. The fruit also contains high amounts of carotene, specifically more than 1600 International Units (I.U.) of carotene in 100g of an edible portion.

Uses
The fruits of this plant are mainly eaten raw and fresh, or processed for juices, desserts or flavourings. The fruit is usually eaten by cracking the hard outer shell, and eating the contents of the inside, such as the pulp and seeds, with a spoon. The flowers of this plant are also used as ornamentals.

Other uses
A new polysaccharide compound has been extracted from the peels of Passiflora Ligularis, called xyloglucan biopolymer. This biopolymer demonstrates antioxidant activity that provides an alternative source of bioactive compounds. This new biopolymer could also be used to produce a biodegradable film from the discards of the passion fruit industry.