The doors to our Whitianga and Paeroa offices will be closed for the summer break from 4pm on Friday, 20 December, while our Taupō and Hamilton offices will close for the summer break at 1pm on Tuesday, 24 December. All offices will reopen on Monday, 6 January 2025. To report air or water pollution, unsafe water activities in or on a river, lake or harbour, or make a general enquiry or information request during this time, call us 24/7 on 0800 800 401.

Close alert
  1. Services »
  2. Plant and animal pests »
  3. Banana passionfruit
On this page:
Management programme

Progressive containment (Taupō and Rotorua districts within the Waikato region)

Sustained control (excluding Taupō and Rotorua districts)
Objectives
Reduce the amount of banana passionfruit and the number of locations that have it within the Taupō and Rotorua districts and reduce its impacts on land elsewhere in the Waikato region.
Impacts
Biodiversity, social and cultural wellbeing, amenity/recreation

Banana passionfruit, originally introduced to New Zealand as an ornamental plant, is native to South America.  Preferring fertile soil, it grows in coastal areas, lowland and coastal shrublands and forest margins, light gaps, roadsides, open areas, farm and orchard hedges and domestic gardens.

Image - Banana passionfruit

What does it look like?

Banana passionfruit is a large, evergreen perennial vine with pink flowers. It can grow up to 10m high, maturing to fruit after only one year.

Flower

  • Single, hanging, tubular flowers with pink petals (up to 7cm in diameter).
  • Flower tubes (hypanthium) are 8cm-9.5cm long.
  • Flowers throughout the year, from January to December.

Fruits/seeds

  • Thin-skinned oval fruit up to 12cm long by 3cm across.
  • Fruit is initially green, turning to yellow or orange-yellow when ripe.
  • Has edible orange pulp and red-black seeds (about 4mm long).

Leaves/stems

  • Three-lobed leaves are soft, downy and glossy green.
  • Lobes are 5cm-14cm long (the middle lobe is the longest).
  • Leaf stems are densely hairy.

Similar plants

Blue passion flower (Passiflora caerulea) has five-lobed leaves, and non-tubular whitish-purple flowers with purple filaments. Bat-wing passion flower (Passiflora apetala) has two-lobed leaves (that resemble a bat wing) and small yellow-green flowers (to 12mm) that develop into grape-sized black berries. These passionfruit species are also banned from sale, propagation, distribution or commercial display under the National Pest Plant Accord.

 

Image - Banana passionfruit covering trees

Why is it a pest?

Banana passionfruit is a vigorous, scrambling, smothering vine. It can grow in a wide range of habitats, including coastal areas, lowland and coastal scrub and shrublands and forest margins, along roadsides and in wastelands, and in farm and orchard hedges and domestic gardens. However, it prefers shrubland and forest margins with fertile soils.

It can blanket vegetation, out-competing other plants and preventing regeneration. It produces large, sweet fruit containing many seeds that are dispersed by birds, as well as possums, rats and feral pigs. Banana passionfruit is also spread by humans (via eating or discarding fruit and in garden waste).

While recent climate modelling suggests banana passionfruit could only occur in certain parts of the Taupō and Rotorua districts within the Waikato region, the impact of this pest may be significant in these areas. For this reason, Waikato Regional Council will undertake control of banana passionfruit on all private, rateable land within the Taupō and Rotorua districts in the Waikato region. In the rest of the region, where banana passionfruit may be more widespread, occupiers are responsible for its control within 50m of any shared boundary where the adjacent or nearby occupiers are undertaking control of it.

Responsibility for control

Taupō and Rotorua districts (within the Waikato region):

Waikato Regional Council is responsible for controlling banana passionfruit in the Taupō and Rotorua districts (within the Waikato region). If you think you have seen it, call us – don’t try to control it yourself.

All occupiers are encouraged to report banana passionfruit on their properties in these parts of the region (rule BPF(TR)-1 of the Waikato Regional Pest Management Plan 2022-2032) and to liaise with the Waikato Regional Council in areas where control programmes are in place.

 

Waikato region (outside of the Rotorua and Taupō districts):

All occupiers in the Waikato region (outside of the Rotorua and Taupō districts) are responsible for controlling banana passionfruit on their property within 50 metres of a shared boundary where that neighbouring land is being managed for environmental values rule GNR BPF-1). Occupiers need to be good neighbours and do the same so that their neighbour’s control efforts are not fruitless.

If banana passionfruit is present on a property in these parts of the region that is to be subdivided or developed, there are additional rules and requirements that apply under section 6.6 of the RPMP 2022-2032.

Banana passionfruit is also banned from being sold, propagated, distributed, or included in commercial displays.

Map of Waikato region, delineating Taupo / Rotorua and rest of Waikato

Important

Control methods

More information

Advice

  • For advice and additional information on control methods, call our pest plant staff on freephone 0800 800 401.
  • Chemical company representatives, farm supply stores, garden centres or the Weedbusters website can also be good sources for advice.

Publications 

The following publications are available for download or from Waikato Regional Council. Contact us to request a copy (freephone 0800 800 401).