5372.000 Passiflora L. - Passion flowers

Description of the genus

Climbing herbs or lianes. Stipules 2 or 0. Leaves alternate, lobed or simple; petiole often with glands. Tendrils usually solitary in leaf axils, rarely 0. Flowers usually large and handsome, axillary, solitary or in racemes, bisexual, 5-merous. Bracts often 3, forming an involucre below the flower. Sepals often coloured inside, sometimes with horns on the back just below apex. Petals 5 or 0, membranous, more vividly coloured than the sepals. Corona present, variously shaped, simple or usually composed of filaments. Androgynophore usually distinct. Stamens 5, free. Styles 3. Fruit usually indehiscent, ± berry-like, spherical or ellipsoid, or rarely fusiform. The structure of the flower is described in this labelled image of Passiflora subpeltata. Species of the genus were called "Calvary Lesson" by Catholic missionaries in S America (Mabberley, 1997) and the explanation of that is also given on the same page.

Worldwide: c.450 spp.species in subtropical and tropical America, Asia, Australia and Polynesia. All our species are introduced.

Zimbabwe: 10 cultivated taxa.

Insects associated with this genus:
Acraea acara (Acara acraea) Food plant
Passiflora mollissima

Links to cultivated taxa    View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesContent
amethystina J.C. Mikan
caerulea L.
edulis SimsDescription, Image
ligularis Juss.Description, Image
manicata (Juss.) Pers.
mollissima (Kunth) L.H. BaileyDescription, Image
morifolia Mast.Description, Image
sanguinolenta Mast. & Linden
vitifolia Kunth
× allardii Lynch

Other sources of information about Passiflora:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: cultivated Passiflora
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Passiflora
Flora of Malawi: Passiflora
Flora of Malawi: cultivated Passiflora
Flora of Mozambique: Passiflora
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Passiflora
Flora of Zambia: Passiflora
Flora of Zambia: cultivated Passiflora
Flora of Zimbabwe: Passiflora

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Passiflora
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Passiflora
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Passiflora
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Passiflora
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Passiflora
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Passiflora
JSTOR Plant Science: Passiflora
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Passiflora
Plants of the World Online: Passiflora
Tropicos: Passiflora
Wikipedia: Passiflora

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2002-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Zimbabwe: Cultivated plants: genus page: Passiflora.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/cult/genus.php?genus_id=990, retrieved 28 March 2024

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