Dedicated to the Passion Fruit plants, Fiji Post Limited issued a set of four stamps features these specific fruit on September 29, 2009. The species depicted on stamps are Passiflora foetida, Passiflora edulis, Passiflora maliformis.
The 20c stamp present fruit Passiflora foetida.
Passiflora foetida is a species of passion flower that is native to the southwestern United States , Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and much of South America. It has been introduced to tropical regions around the world
The stems are thin and wiry, covered with minute sticky yellow hairs. Older stems become woody. The leaves are three- to five-lobed and viscid-hairy. When crushed, these leaves give off a pungent odor that some people consider unpleasant.
The flowers are white to pale cream coloured, about 5–6 cm diameter. The fruit is globose, 2–3 cm diameter, yellowish-orange to red when ripe, and has numerous black seeds embedded in the pulp; the fruit are eaten and the seeds dispersed by birds
Passiflora foetida contains high levels of saponins and is used as a substitute for soap in the manufacture of (soap-free) detergents .
