The passion fruit vine is a shallow-rooted, woody, perennial, climbing by means of tendrils. A single, fragrant flower, 2 to 3 in wide, is borne at each node on the new growth. The bloom, clasped by 3 large, green, leaf like bracts, consists of 5 greenish-white sepals, 5 white petals, a fringe like corona of straight, white-tipped rays, also 5 stamens with large anthers. The flower of the yellow is the more showy, with more intense colour. The nearly round or ovoid fruit, 1 1/2 to 3 in wide, has a tough rind, to light-yellow or pumpkin-colour. It is 1/8 in thick, adhering to a 1/4 in layer of white pith. Within is a cavity more or less filled with an aromatic mass of double-walled, membranous sacs filled with orange-coloured, pulpy juice. The flavour is appealing, musky, guava-like.
The yellow form has a more vigorous vine and generally larger fruit than the purple
The yellow passion fruit is tropical or near-tropical
Passion fruit juice can be boiled down to a sirup which is used in making sauce, gelatin desserts, candy, ice cream, sherbet, cake icing, cake filling, meringue or chiffon pie, cold fruit soup, jams or in cocktails.
Seeds should germinate in 2 to 3 weeks. Sprouting may be hastened by allowing the pulp to ferment for a few days before separating the seeds, or by chipping the seeds or rubbing them with fine sandpaper. Soaking, often recommended, has not proved helpful. Seeds are planted 1/2 in (1.25 cm) deep in beds, and seedlings may be transplanted when 10 in (25 cm) high. If taller–up to 3 ft (.9 in)–the tops should be cut back and the plants heavily watered.
Regular watering will keep a vine flowering and fruiting almost continuously. Least flowers develop during the winter season due to short day length. Water requirement is high when fruits are approaching maturity. If soil is dry, fruits may shrivel and fall prematurely.