The sweet greenadilla, a climbing plant, not only produces the largest passionflower fruits for its vitamin-rich juice, but also differs from its relatives in other ways. Its leaves are not finger-shaped, but almost heart-shaped with smooth edges. The corona of its flowers, which can reach up to 10 centimeters in diameter, is banded with white and purple. The flowers often grow in pairs on stems up to four centimeters long. Passiflora ligularis grows slowly and is less twining than its relatives, growing almost straight upwards. However, it can be easily trained to climb trellises. Unripe fruits are bluish-green and often covered with small greenish-white dots; ripe fruits have a glossy orange-yellow skin. The fruits, including the seeds, are often eaten fresh as a dessert.
Natural habitat: Its natural range is in South America, Central America, and Mexico. It is now also cultivated in the subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Australia.
