Passiflora ligularis (Sweet Granadilla)

Native to Bolivia, Colombia, Panamá, Peru, and Venezuela, this is a vine in the Passifloraceae family. It is a fruiting vine of Andean habitats. The fruit is encased in a hard, brittle, and slippery outer shell which maintains the quality of the fruit for weeks. The seeds surrounded by a gelatinous sphere of transparent sweet pulp rich in vitamins A, C, and K is the edible part of the fruit eaten raw or as a juice. The flowers present a blend of greenish-white sepals and lilac-white petals surrounding bluish-purple and white banded coronal filaments, which also exude a pleasant fragrance. Photographed in the department of Quindio, Colombia.