The Mayan Passion Fruit (Ketchi name is Kun Batz) is still in season.  It is a vine which voluntarily grows around cultivated trees and it can also exist in the rainforest of Belize.

They have beautiful flowers so can they also be grown as an ornamental:

The fruit can be eaten green like a vegetable (like cho-cho or zucchini).

If you let it ripen, you can eat the fruit pulp like a passion fruit.

The seeds and the pulp are edible and can be eaten alone or mixed with yoghurt or ice-cream.  Today, I sifted out the seeds to get the pulp and the juice:

I used a total of eight fruit and towards the end, added a cup of water to the remaining seeds to try to extract the last of the pulp.  I was able to make a quart of juice from this method.  When I tasted it I felt that it was sweet enough that no sugar was required.  Compare this with normal passion fruit which is quite acidic which requires sweetening in order to enhance the taste.  This is Kun Batz juice with a sprig of mint:

The Kun Batz juice is divine!!  The taste of the juice is a combination of pineapple, banana and canteloupe melon with mild exotic hints of passion fruit.  It is unique in that it has a mildly sour taste but it is sweet enough that no sugar is needed.

I have a whole lot of fresh seeds to sell so check out The Apothecary.  To my knowledge, nobody is cultivating this bush fruit so if you are into rare and exotic plants, then this a definitely one to add to the list!

Planting Instructions:

Passiflora seeds have a hard shell so pr-treat the seeds before planting; Soak the seeds for 24-48 hours in warm to the touch water, just prior to planting.  Once pretreated, plant seeds 1/2-1″ deep in moist, sterile soil. Keep soil temperature consistent at about 70-85F.  Cool soils will significantly delay seed germination time.

Estimated germination time under optimal conditions: 6 weeks to 6 months.

Plant spacing for this vine is 10 feet (3 metres) apart and can grow to about 20 feet tall.  Will start fruiting in about 12 months.

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