- Also spelled:
- passionflower
passion flower
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What is a passion flower?
The passion flower is a plant from the genus Passiflora, which includes over 500 species of mostly tendril-bearing vines. Most passion flower species are native to the neotropical regions of the Americas. Some species are grown as ornamentals, while others for their edible fruits, and many serve as host plants for butterflies.
Passion flowers are mostly climbing vines, though some grow as trees or shrubs. The flowers vary in shape, from saucer-like to trumpet-shaped, exhibiting five sepals, five petals, and a corona. The blossom of the purple passion fruit (P. edulis) symbolizes events of the Passion of Christ: the corona represents the crown of thorns, the styles represent nails, the stamens signify wounds, and the sepals and petals symbolize the apostles.
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Where do passion flowers naturally grow?
Passion flowers (genus Passiflora) are mostly tendril-bearing vines with over 500 species. Most species are native to the neotropical regions of the Americas, but they are widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics. While Passiflora is most diverse in the Neotropics, around 20 species are native to the Pacific and Indomalesian region. There are no species indigenous to Africa.
Some species of passion flowers are cultivated as ornamentals, while others are grown for their edible fruits.
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What does a passion flower look like?
Passion flowers are mostly climbing vines, but some can be trees or shrubs. They have grasping tendrils and can be either herbaceous or woody. Their simple leaves can be a variety of shapes, even on the same plant.
Passion flower blossoms range from shallow saucers to long, cylindrical tubes. The most striking part of the flower is the corona, which features threadlike or membranous outgrowths. The flowers have five sepals, five petals, and a stalk bearing a ring of five stamens. Above the stamens is the ovary, with three widely spreading styles, each ending in a buttonlike stigma.
The flowers can be minute or large and showy. The ovary has one compartment containing numerous seeds arranged in three groups, which ripens into a berrylike or capsular fruit. The purple passion fruit, for example, has fragrant purple and white flowers that are about 8 cm across.
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How does the passion flower help pollinators like bees and butterflies?
The passion flower is beneficial to pollinators like bees and butterflies because it attracts them in several ways:
* Nectar: Passion flower blossoms secrete nectar, a sweet, viscous secretion that is a watery solution of sugars, proteins, salts, acids, and essential oils, which attracts pollinators to the plant.
* Host plant: Many passion flower species are important larval host plants to butterflies.
* Mimicry: Certain passion flower species employ egg mimicry. They produce pigmented callosities that resemble the eggs of butterflies, which deters female butterflies from laying eggs on the plant, thus reducing competition and predation from butterfly larvae.5 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What parts of the passion flower are used for food or medicine?
Both the fruit and other parts of the passion flower have culinary and medicinal uses. Several species of Passiflora produce edible fruit, known as passion fruit, including the purple passion fruit (P. edulis) and the yellow granadilla (P. laurifolia). The long yellow fruit of P. quadrangularis is consumed as a vegetable when unripe, but it can be poisonous when mature.
P. incarnata has an ingredient that is used in sedatives, and the flowers of P. x belotii are used in making scents. Additionally, distillations from the root of Paropsia and twig bark of Smeathmannia are used to relieve toothaches.
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How does the passion flower reproduce and spread in nature?
Passion flowers, belonging to the family Passifloraceae, primarily reproduce via sexual reproduction involving pollination. Pollen is transferred from the anthers to the stigma, facilitating fertilization and seed production. Effective pollination can occur through wind, water, or animals like insects and birds.
Many passion flower species are climbing vines that spread as they climb using grasping tendrils. Additionally, some species employ a fascinating defensive strategy where they produce pigmented callosities on their leaves that mimic the eggs of butterflies. This mimicry deters ovipositing female butterflies, reducing the likelihood of predation by butterfly larvae and aiding the plant's survival and spread.
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passion flower, (genus Passiflora), genus of more than 500 species of mostly tendril-bearing vines in the family Passifloraceae and their characteristic flowers. Most species are found throughout neotropical regions of the Americas. Some are cultivated as ornamentals, while others are grown for their edible fruits. Many are important larval host plants to butterflies.
Physical description
Most passion flowers are climbing or prostrate vines with grasping tendrils; some are trees or shrubs. The plants can be herbaceous or woody. The simple leaves are entire or lobed, and a single plant may produce a diversity of leaf shapes.
The passion flower blossom varies in form from a shallow saucer shape to a long cylindrical or trumpet-shaped tube, producing at its upper border five sepals, five petals, and many threadlike or membranous outgrowths from the tube, which constitute the most conspicuous and beautiful part of the flower, called the corona. From the base of the inner part of the tube rises a stalk bearing above the middle a ring of five stamens (the male pollen-producing structures). Above the stamens is the female structure, or ovary, at the top of which arise three widely spreading styles. Each style ends in a buttonlike stigma, giving an appearance rather like a large-headed nail. The flowers can be minute, such as those of the corkystem passion flower (Passiflora suberosa), or large and showy. The ovary, with a single compartment, contains numerous seeds arranged in three groups and ripens into a berrylike or capsular fruit.
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Major species
The wild passion flower, passion vine, or maypop (Passiflora incarnata) climbs about 3 to 9 metres (10 to 30 feet) high and has pink and white flowers about 4 to 7.5 cm (1.5 to 3 inches) across and a yellow berrylike edible fruit about 5 cm long. The yellow passion flower (P. lutea) is a smaller plant with greenish yellow flowers and purple fruits.
Some highly perfumed passion fruits are eaten as delicate dessert fruits, as the giant granadilla (P. quadrangularis). The purple passion fruit, also called purple granadilla or maracuyá (P. edulis), and the yellow granadilla, or water lemon (P. laurifolia), as well as the wild passion flower, are widely grown in tropical America for their fruit. P. maliformis is the sweet calabash of the West Indies. The size of these fruits usually does not exceed that of a hen’s egg, but the fruit of the giant granadilla is like a gourd and may weigh up to 3.5 kg (about 8 pounds).
Symbolism
The passion flower blossom, especially the flower of the purple passion fruit (P. edulis), is often used to symbolize events in the last hours of the life of Jesus Christ, the Passion of Christ, which accounts for the name of the group. Thus, the corona represents the crown of thorns, the styles represent the nails used in the Crucifixion, the stamens represent the five wounds, and the five sepals and five petals represent 10 of the Apostles—all but Judas, who betrayed Jesus, and St. Peter, who denied Jesus three times on the night of his trial.