Foetid Passion Flower
Passiflora foetida
Also known as Common Passion Flower, Pop Vine, Running Pop, Stinking Passion Flower, Tagua Passion Flower, Wild Maracuja
- Habit
- Climber
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh & more
- Flowering
- June-December
How to identify Foetid Passion Flower
Identify Foetid Passion Flower by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a climber habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Lacy hairy bracts wrap the fruit; foul smell when crushed.
- Confirm leaf margin: Lobed.
- Confirm leaf surface: Pubescent.
- Confirm flower colour: White-purple.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: June-December.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and nearby regions.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Passiflora foetida
- Genus
- Passiflora
- Family
- Passifloraceae
- Habit
- Climber
- Habitat
- Degraded forests and wastelands
- Native to
- Tropical America
- Distribution
- Naturalised in India, China and Africa
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Goa, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha
- Flowering & fruiting
- June-December
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf margin
- LobedrecordedThe edge is divided into rounded or pointed sections that don't reach the midrib.“The leaves are three- to five-lobed and viscid-hairy.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- PubescentrecordedCovered in short, soft hairs.“The leaves are three- to five-lobed and viscid-hairy.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Characters marked “recorded” are for Foetid Passion Flower itself; the rest are typical of the Passifloraceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- White-purplerecorded
Characters marked “recorded” are for Foetid Passion Flower itself; the rest are typical of the Passifloraceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Bengali
- ঝুমকোলতা
- Tamil
- காட்டுக் கொடித்தோடை, குரங்குப்பழம், சிறுபூனைக்காலி
- Malayalam
- അമ്മൂമ്മപ്പഴം, Passiflora foetida, കൊരുങ്ങുണ്ണിപ്പഴം
Foetid Passion Flower in India
Foetid passion flower is a wild passion-vine of degraded forests, wastelands and sunny edges, recorded by SASYA from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana and many other states. Indian names include ঝুমকোলতা in Bengali, காட்டுக் கொடித்தோடை / குரங்குப்பழம் in Tamil, and അമ്മൂമ്മപ്പഴം / കൊരുങ്ങുണ്ണിപ്പഴം in Malayalam.
Uses
The ripe fruit is locally eaten in some places, and the plant has traditional medicinal attributions. Do not treat those uses as medical advice; avoid eating any wild plant unless identity and safety are certain.
How to Identify Foetid Passion Flower
Identify Passiflora foetida by its climbing habit, tendrils, lobed leaves, showy passion-flower structure, and the distinctive green hairy or bristly bracts that surround the fruit and flower bud. Compared with ornamental passion flowers, this species often looks weedier and has a hairy, netted cage around the small round fruit.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I identify Passiflora foetida?
- Look for a passion-vine with lobed leaves, tendrils, small passion flowers, and hairy green bracts forming a cage around the fruit.
- Why is it called foetid passion flower?
- The name refers to the plant's strong smell, especially when parts are crushed or bruised.
- Where is Passiflora foetida found in India?
- SASYA records include Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, West Bengal, Uttarakhand and other states.
Passifloraceae
Passionflower family
Foetid Passion Flower belongs to the Passifloraceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guidesMore in Passifloraceae
View all PassifloraceaeSources: GBIF — Passiflora foetida (CC BY 4.0) · iNaturalist — Passiflora foetida (CC BY 4.0)