What does it look like?
Banana passionfruit is a vigorous, evergreen, and high-climbing vine. It grows up to 10 metres high with long, hairy stems which have many spiralling tendrils. Leaves have three lobes (each lobe 5-14 cm long) with the middle lobe being the longest. Leaves have a furry underside and serrated edges.
They have pink, hanging flowers (7 cm diameter) with a central tube (6-9.5 cm long) appear, followed by hanging, thin-skinned fruit (up to 12 x 4 cm in size). Fruit ripens from green to yellow or orange, with sweet edible orange pulp and dark red seeds (4-6 mm long).
Most commonly found in disturbed/high light areas of forest and forest margins, however it can also invade the coastal environment.
Why is it a problem?
It grows rapidly in most soil types and produces highly viable seed within two years. It’s relatively tolerant to shade, damage and drought, and they take root touching the ground.
It generally reaches climax growth in the medium-high canopy section of the forest, where it forms large masses which weigh down on canopy species and block out light, preventing establishment of native plants and causing canopy collapse. After this, other weeds can easily invade due to the high light levels and disturbance.
Control methods
Physical control
Hand pull whenever possible or dig plant out at the roots. Cut off above ground or tie stems in air to prevent layering.
Herbicide control
Cut and stump treat larger stems with metsulfuron-methyl (600g/kg e.g. Escort®) at 1g/L water. Or, glyphosate (360g/L e.g. Roundup ®) at 200ml/L water. Or,
Spray masses on the ground where roots can’t be pulled with triclopyr (e.g. Grazon®) at 6ml/L water + penetrant, or glyphosate at 10ml/L water + penetrant.
CAUTION: When using any herbicide or pesticide, PLEASE READ THE LABEL THOROUGHLY to ensure that all instructions and safety requirements are followed.
More information
Banana passionfruit is a species listed in the National Pest Plant Accord and is also an Unwanted Organism.
It is an offence to distribute, breed, or sell these organisms in accordance with Section 52 and 53 of the Biosecurity Act.
Related links
Management Programme
National Pest Plant Accord
All plants on MPI's National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA) are unwanted organisms under the Biosecurity Act 1993 whose formal or casual trade contributes significantly to their spread.
Plants on the Accord cannot legally be propagated, distributed, or sold in New Zealand. If allowed to spread further, these pest plants could seriously damage our economy and environment.
Unwanted Organism
An unwanted organism is any organism that's capable of causing harm to natural or physical resources (like forests and waterways) or human health. A number of introduced pests in New Zealand are classed as unwanted.
More informationOrganism of Interest (OOI)
Organisms Of Interest (OOI) are those specified as pests under our Regional Pest Management Plan that are capable of causing significant adverse effects on one or several of our Regional values. These species warrant being watch-listed for ongoing surveillance or future control opportunities.
More informationTaxonomies
FamilyPassifloraceae
TypePlants
GroupClimber
HabitatLand
Management ProgrammeNational Pest Plant AccordUnwanted OrganismOrganism of Interest (OOI)
