Passiflora foetida

Botanical name : Passiflora foetida (L.) M.Roem.
Family : Passifloraceae

SANSKRIT SYNONYMS
Lomaphala, Svaduphala.

AYURVEDIC PROPERTIES
Rasa : Kashaya, Amla, Madhura
Guna : Guru, Snigdha
Virya : Seeta

PLANT NAME IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
English : Wild Maracuja, Stinking Passion Flower
Hindi :
Malayalam : Akasatondi

Distribution – Throughout India, growing wild.

PLANT DESCRIPTION
An annual tendril climber grows over hedges and bushes. The stems are thin, wiry and woody, covered with sticky yellow hairs. The leaves are three to five-lobed and viscid-hairy. They give off an unpleasant odor when crushed. The flowers are white to pale cream colored, about 5-6 cm diameter. The fruit is globose, 1-3 cm diameter, yellowish when ripe, and has numerous black seeds embedded in the pulp; the fruit are eaten and the seeds dispersed by birds.

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Plant pacifies vitiated pitta, inflammation, pain, insomnia, depression and anxiety disorders.
Useful part : Whole plant.