Discover this wonderfully weird underdog fruit of the pineapple discovery era. Giant granadilla (Passiflora quadrangularis, Parcha, Barbadine, Badea, Giant tumbo) was allegedly unearthed to the Western world in the same expedition as the pineapple, but never really hit the bigtime.

Essentially, it’s a giant passionfruit featuring the largest fruit in the Passiflora genus. For people from the tropical Americas, Southeast Asia, and Australia, the giant granadilla is familiar. It grows wild in these areas in lush, tropical jungle climates. Accordingly, it prefers climate conditions that are warm and humid day and night. 

The giant granadilla plant is a fast-growing vine, with a woody base. At maturity, it can climb up to 50 feet tall. The flowers are nearly identical to the frilly, firework-shaped blooms of other passion vines, but double the size. Flowers form aromatic, melon-like fruit with blushing pink or white flesh. It can be very sensitive to any conditions colder than tropical lowlands, so plan accordingly.

Giant granadilla also has a huge appetite for deep, fertile, well-drained soil. Once harvested, the giant granadilla fruits can be eaten, chopped and combined for unique fruit salads, where it adds a mellow charm with a hint of limelike flavor.

Beach Bean (Canavalia rosea, synonym Canavalia maritima) is a salt-tolerant vine that’s got it all together. As a plant that thrives on sandy soils and full sun, it has a tendency to weave and spread into seaside landscapes that are vulnerable to drought and erosion. Canavalia rosea is a popular and heat-hardy ground cover in Florida, which is a great first step to transforming your yard into a native landscape that can act as restored ecosystems for wildlife.  It is a popular Florida native bean plant that is edible while seed pods are still young. However, when the bean pods are mature, they will require extra processing to eat! 

Enjoy Canavalia rosea’s signature fuchsia blooms that contrast the plant’s shrubby, lime green leaves throughout the year, with the most abundant bloom time in the peak of the summer. As any beach bum could tell you, plenty of heat, warm soil, and long summer days will help beach bean plants thrive.

Mexican Apple (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) is the tropical fruit gardener’s respite from the aching nostalgia of traditional apple orchards. It is native to the high elevation cloud forests of Mexico and Colombia, and can be found in subtropical Texas and Florida. This shrubby perennial can be the apple of your inner forager’s eye, with year-round harvests of bright red flowers and bushels of tender, green leaves. You may recognize the flowers for its trademark similarities to more commonly familiar plants in the hibiscus family. Towards the end of the summer, flowers will give way to red, marble-sized fruits that boast a light tanginess and mealy texture that are similar to apples.

Grow Mexican Apple for an easygoing, edible plant with a tropical twist.  Its native cloud forest habitats are a good reminder that this low-growing plant thrives in part-shade in warm growing zones, but appreciates more moderate sun exposure in cooler zones. Eat the flowers raw, or dry and store them for teas and tisanes. Harvest bundles of Mexican Apple leaves before winter for a fuzzy, tender alternative to spinach. 

Photos: Wildflower.org

For the horticultural road less traveled, you can take a swing at growing Black Goji Berry, or Lycium ruthenicum. Originally discovered in the higher inner Himalayas, Lycium ruthenicum holds a storied past as an ancient medicinal fruit, which is still cultivated for its benefits in traditional medicine practices. It makes a strong case for its potential healing powers, as a plant that thrives in dry climates, with a good hardiness against cold conditions.

As Lycium ruthenicum matures, its growth pattern will emerge with copious branches stemming from the original plant, flowering in the spring, and fruiting in the late summer. It fruits with purple-black berries to be eaten raw, cooked, or dried into teas and tisanes.