2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Chulyupa (lat. Passiflora maliformis) - a spectacular treelike vine that belongs to the Passionaceae family, sometimes called the crabapple passionflower.
Description
Chulyupa is an incredibly attractive evergreen perennial vine, which is the closest relative of the granadilla. Its tree-like stems are generously covered with rather stiff tendrils, which are designed so that the growing vines can cling to all kinds of supports. These antennae allow the chulyupa to easily climb other trees, and to a height of up to ten meters.
Glossy chulyupa leaves are characterized by an oval-heart-shaped or oval-oblong shape, and their length varies from six to fifteen centimeters.
Amazingly beautiful chulyupa flowers reach from seven to fifteen centimeters in diameter and are endowed with huge three-row bracts. They all smell very strong and quite nice. And the variegated petals of flowers can be painted in purple, white and red tones. As for the flowering period, it usually occurs in early summer and lasts until late autumn.
The width of the oval fruits of the chulyupa is about three and a half to four centimeters, and their length ranges from four and a half to five centimeters. Compared to the fruits of other varieties of passionflower, these fruits are quite small. The peel of ripe fruits is usually yellow-brown in color. Each fruit contains a fragrant, very juicy and incredibly sweet pulp, colored in pale orange or grayish tones, and in the middle of this pulp there are many flattened black seeds. And the taste of the chulyupa is somewhat similar to grapes.
Where grows
In the wild, the fragrant chulupa is most often found in distant Northern Ecuador, in Venezuela, in some Antilles (such as Jamaica or Trinidad, as well as Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti and Barbados) and in Colombia. And purposefully for the sake of excellent edible fruits, it is cultivated in Jamaica, as well as on Ecuadorian and Brazilian plantations. As for the Hawaiian Islands, the chulyupa is used there as an ornamental garden plant.
However, in comparison with the rest of passion flowers (passionfruit, as well as yellow or giant granadilla), the chulyupa cannot boast of either solid volumes of cultivation or great demand. This is due to the fact that the peel of its fruits is too tough, and the size of the fruits themselves is relatively small.
Application
Chulupa pulp is most often consumed fresh or used to obtain concentrates or juice, with the addition of which a wide variety of non-alcoholic soft drinks are prepared. And cocktails with chulyupa also turn out incomparable - they perfectly refresh and delight with their unsurpassed taste.
Chulyupa also goes well with some dairy and fermented milk products (with cottage cheese, ice cream, etc.).
Contraindications
The only contraindication that prevents the use of chulupa is individual intolerance. Everyone else can safely eat it without any fear.
