Banana passionfruit

Banana passionfruit (Passiflora supersect. Tacsonia), also known as taxo in Ecuador and curuba in Colombia, is a group of around 64 Passiflora species found in South America.^[1][2] Most species in this section are found in high-elevation cloud forest habitats. Flowers have a cylindrical hypanthium.

Banana passionfruit
Passiflora mixta
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Passifloraceae
Genus:	Passiflora
Supersection:	Passiflora supersect. Tacsonia (Juss.) Feuillet & J.M.MacDougal (2003)
Type species
Passiflora mixta Lam.
Species
See text
Synonyms
Poggendorffia H.Karst. Tacsonia Juss.

"Taxo" redirects here. For Jewish apocryphal character, see Assumption of Moses.

Species

Section	Series	Image	Scientific name	Distribution
Bolivianae			Passiflora gracilens	Bolivia (Cochabamba and La Paz), Peru (Apurimac, Cajamarca, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huánuco, Junín, and La Libertad)
Rathea			Passiflora andina
			Passiflora colombiana
			Passiflora harlingii
			Passiflora unipetala
Insignes			Passiflora carrascoensis
			Passiflora insignis
			Passiflora lanceolata
			Passiflora mandonii
			Passiflora pilosicorona
			Passiflora pinnatistipula
Tasconiopsis			Passiflora bracteosa
			Passiflora purdiei
Trifoliata			Passiflora trifoliata
			Passiflora huamachucoensis
Fimbriatistipula			Passiflora fimbriatistipula	Colombia (Huila and Cauca)
			Passiflora uribei	Colombia (Putumayo)
Manicata			Passiflora manicata
			Passiflora macropoda
			Passiflora trisecta
			Passiflora peduncularis
			Passiflora weberbaueri
Parritana			Passiflora parritae	Colombia (Caldas, Tolima, and Risaralda)
			Passiflora jardinensis	Colombia (Jardín in Antioquia)
Tacsonia			Passiflora amazonica
			Passiflora mixta
			Passiflora matthewsii
			Passiflora schlimiana
			Passiflora salpoense
Colombiana	Quindiensae		Passiflora linearistipula
			Passiflora quindiensis
	Leptomischae		Passiflora ampullacea
			Passiflora antioquiensis
			Passiflora coactilis
			Passiflora cremastantha
			Passiflora flexipes
			Passiflora leptomischa
			Passiflora tenerifensis
	Colombianae		Passiflora adulterina
			Passiflora crispolanata
			Passiflora cuatrecasasii
			Passiflora formosa
			Passiflora lanata
			Passiflora pamplonensis
			Passiflora rugosa
			Passiflora trianae
			Passiflora truxillensis
Elkhea			Passiflora anastomosans
			Passiflora brachyantha
			Passiflora cumbalensis
			Passiflora linearistipula
			Passiflora jamesonii
			Passiflora linda
			Passiflora loxensis
			Passiflora luzmarina
			Passiflora roseorum
			Passiflora sanctae-barbarae
			Passiflora tarminiana
			Passiflora tripartita
			Passiflora zamorana	Ecuador (Zamora-Chinchipe)

Whole and longitudinally-cut banana passionfruits.

Banana passionfruit ceramic. Moche culture.

Invasive species

P. tarminiana and P. tripartita thrive in the climate of New Zealand. They are invasive species since they can smother forest margins and forest regrowth. It is illegal to sell, cultivate, or distribute the plants.^[3]

As of 2011, banana passionfruit vines are smothering more than 200 square miles (520 km²) of native forest on the islands of Hawaii and Kauai. Seeds are spread by feral pigs, birds and humans.^[4][5] The vine can also be found all across the highlands of New Guinea and in Tasmania.^{[citation needed]}