Passionflowers

A few years ago in North Carolina, while mowing the part of our yard next to an overgrown vacant lot, my husband discovered a small vine with a very exotic flower. He carefully trimmed around it, and it grew larger and produced green fruit about the size of a chicken's egg.

Over the next three years, the vine popped up in new places on that side of the yard. Because the foliage and flowers were so distinctive, he let them grow. At a local nursery, I saw the same vine for sale in a large trellised planter. The name: passionflower --also known as maypop or the purple passionflower.

More research revealed that maypops are a common roadside weed in the Southeast United States, common because they spread by underground runners, which "pop up" in May, hence the name.

Early Spanish explorers were impressed by the plant blossoms, which to them symbolized the nails, the hammer, and the crown of thorns of the passion of Christ in a correct numerical relationship. They took the plant back to Europe and gave it a scientific name representing Christ's crucifixion -- Passiflora incarnata. In Japan, it's called the "clock" plant because the blossom looks like a clock face.

It turns out that there are more than 600 varieties of passionflower, mostly in tropical rainforest areas of South America and Africa. A Brazilian variety produces a fruit called the purple grenadilla that is widely sold and eaten. Its juice has a calming effect on hyperactive children. In Romania, an extract from another type of passionflower plant is used in chewing gum used for soothing nervous jitters.

For centuries, Indians have used passionflower tea as a sedative or calming tonic. Leaves from the common local variety have been used to treat coughs, stress, anxiety, and insomnia.

Could passionflower be a new cash crop for small farmers? In British Columbia, Canada, the vines are organically grown for sale to the herbal remedy market, bringing a price of $10 to $15 per pound for certified organic dried leaves. Seeds of Passiflora incarnata sell for 40 cents per individual seed on some Web sites.

The vine can get up to 20 feet long and has attractive leaves, flowers and fruit. It blooms from July until frost, and the fruit turns yellow when ripe. Break one of the fruits open and you will see a multitude of seeds in a yellow gelatinous pulp. It has a pleasant smell and can be mixed with sugar and water to make drinks, jam or jelly. It also makes a fine houseplant, requiring bright light but not full sun.

The passionflower is an important host plant (food source) for several butterfly species and their larvae. Seeds planted in early spring may take a month to germinate, but plants should flower in the first year. Cuttings taken in June root easily if kept watered. Flowers bloom on new growth, so older vines benefit from pruning while the plant is dormant.

Now that we live in Arkansas, I’ve seen the vine on roadsides growing among honeysuckles. It distinctive leaves and flowers make it easy to identify. Try some in your flower garden, and the butterflies will be grateful.