Perhaps I'm too adventurous. The first three photos are of a fruit, weighing about a pound, that superficially resembled a papaya. I have no idea what to say about the seeds, except that they seem to belong in a passionfruit. It was pretty bland and crunchy, like apple flesh or underripe babaco, and when I juiced the remainder it was fizzy. I'm leaning towards thinking it's a mountain papaya, Carica candicans aka Vasconcellea candicans but I've really got no clue. The second two photos are something that I was told is a Pepino. All this tells me is that it's probably related to a cucumber. When I cut into it, though, it looks way more like a Solanum of some sort; in fact it reminds me strongly of a tree tomato (tomatillo.) So, what am I eating?
Maybe, but do they get up to a pound (half a kilo) in weight? If it was a passiflora fruit, then I ate the wrong part.... And it sure looks like that's what it was. Darn it, I chucked the seeds.
Yes, certainly! This is the GIANT granadilla!!! (weight: 0,2- 3,0 kilo!!!) Hm... the wrong part?! I think the whole fruit is edible... but you can eat the leaves also, if you like... :)))
The flesh was roundly disappointing - very bland and without a defining texture; I wish now I hadn't turfed the seeds. Oh well; next time I'm in Mindo I can get another one and eat it properly. Then make the flesh into a pie or something.
Hi Lila I would confirm that it is indeed P. quadrangularis, the Giant Granadilla (sometimes Grenadilla). It is very unusual/unique for a passion fruit as the pulp although insipid is edible -though usually it is boiled up. With regard to eating the leaves of any Passiflora however that is best avoided as they will be toxic giving off hydrogen cyanide (HCN) when chewed. Unripe passion fruit may also be very toxic. The only safe Passiflora foliage is dried P. incarnata as commercially prepared. There is a lot more info on my pages here. Passiflora toxicology Best wishes Myles Irvine
I know enough not to eat passiflora leaves - I grow the smaller varieties. Including P. mixto, also called Taxo here, and which is completely edible, skin flesh and seed drupes.
