Appearance
The leaves are oval or oblong, 10–15 cm long and 1–10 cm wide. The fragrant flower is 7–10 cm wide, with red curved tepals, and a prominent fringed corona in bands of purple and white giving the appearance of stripes. It usually blooms around late summer or early fall, needing full sun exposure. ''P. alata'' attracts bees, butterflies and birds.The solitary fruit is highly prized by local people. It is egg-shaped, yellow to bright orange, 8–15 cm long and 5–10 cm in diameter. It weighs from 90–300 g .
Naming
The local peoples refer to it as ''ouvaca'', meaning "red star" due to the appearance of its flower. Other names include fragrant grenadilla, and ''maracuja de refresco''. The specific epithet ''alata'' means "winged", referring to the 4-winged stems.Uses
In Brazil, ''P. alata'' is officially recognized as a phytomedicine, and was included in first edition of Brazilian Pharmacopoeia in 1929. It is well known in folk medicine throughout South America, though the exact pharmacological composition of the plant is little understood and requires more study.References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
