Varieties

Purple Passionfruit (Passiflora edulis) This is the main variety grown commercially in New Zealand at present. Variants of the purple passionfruit from Australia have been tried here and although they colour up well in the heat of summer, the early and late fruit tend to have a lot of greening, making them unacceptable in the marketplace.
Yellow Passionfruit (Passiflora edulis v. flavicarpa) This variety is not grown commercially in New Zealand. The vines grow well in summer but don’t tolerate cold winters. They are good croppers, but the fruit tends to be small, though very sweet. It also has a tendency to appear diseased, giving it less acceptance in the marketplace.
Gold Passionfruit Hybrid (Passiflora edulis v. flavicarpa x edulis) This hybrid passionfruit variety is currently grown commercially on one orchard in New Zealand. A cross between the standard purple and the yellow passionfruit, the gold passionfruit is sweeter than the purple, produces good sized fruit and the plants grow well in the New Zealand climate.
Banana Passionfruit (Passiflora mollissima) These vines are common in northern New Zealand, usually growing in the home garden or rampantly in bush areas. The variety has now been declared a noxious weed in many parts of the country and it is illegal to propagate. The plant has very attractive pink, pendulous flowers which develop into quite edible, yellow, elongated fruit when ripe.