Page 52 - Edible Trees For Tucson

Grape (Vitis vinifera)

Grape vines are woody, perennial, and deciduous.
They have a flexible trunk with branches that require
support, often in the form of
trellises. The leaves are a
modified heart shape with
toothed margins often three
to five lobes. Fruits form in
clusters of juicy, thin-skinned
berries that vary in color
from white, to red, purple, or black. Grapes may be
eaten fresh or dried into raisins, processed into juice,
fermented into wine and other alcoholic beverages. The
juice can also be concentrated as a natural sweetener or
made into preserves.

Passionfruit (Passiflora edulis)
The passionfruit vine is a shallow-rooted, woody
perennial vine that climbs via tendrils. The alternate
evergreen leaves are deeply
3-lobed when mature. Leaves
are 3 to 8 inches long, finely
toothed along the margins,
deep green and glossy on the
upper surface, paler and dull
beneath, and may be tinged
with red or purple.
Fragrant 5-petalled flowers appear singly, clasped by
three large, green bracts and with a central crown of
straight, white-tipped purple rays. Inside, the fruit cavity
has an aromatic mass of membranous sacs. Each sac is
filled with orange-colored, pulpy juice and small, hard,
brown to black seeds. The flavor is tart to sweet, musky
and guava-like. The fruit will quickly turn from green to
deep purple (or yellow) when ripe and fall to the ground.
They can either be picked when they change color or
gathered from the ground. To store the fruit, carefully
wash, dry, and place them in bags. They should last 2 to
3 weeks at 50 degrees F. The fruit is sweetest when slightly
shriveled. Fruit is primarily eaten fresh or juiced, and the
juice can also be concentrated into syrup.

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