Passiflora maliformis

A woody climbing vine native to the Caribbean, Colombia and Venezuela, it is commonly called sweet calabash. It grows mainly in wet tropical habitats and climbs with tendrils. In Colombia it occurs from sea level to about six thousand six hundred feet in the Andes and the Cauca and Magdalena valleys. Three large bracts surround the flower buds and persist around the developing fruits. The fragrant flowers have speckled petals and sepals and long, wavy corona filaments striped with white and violet.

The rounded fruits have an unusually hard, woody shell that can be difficult to open. Inside, sweet, aromatic pulp surrounds the seeds and has a flavor compared with grapes. It is eaten fresh or used to make cold drinks. Photographed in the department of Quindio, Colombia.