Passion Flower

Passion Flower (Passiflora)

Plant Info:

Extremely fast growing, hardy flower producing egg shaped orange fruits with edible pulp, Flowers are ornate with a minty scent much like the fruit of the pineapple guava.

The blue Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea) is the one most often seen growing in homes but there is also a red variety (Passiflora coccinea).

The passion vine (Passiflora) has travelled widely since its first discovery in Peru, and is considered a houseplant on the prairies. This climbing vine can grow very quickly under favorable conditions, reaching up to 6 m (20 ft). It is often trained around a hoop, on netting, or on a trellis, supporting itself with spiral-like tendrils.

more info or buy seeds

Dried flower petals available here

Mythology:

Legend has it that in 1620 a Jesuit priest in Peru came across the plant we now know as passion flower. Enthralled with its beauty, that night he had a vision likening its floral parts to the elements of the Crucifixion or Passion of Christ. The five petals and five sepals became the ten apostles (omitting Peter and Judas). The three pistils became the nails of the cross; the purple corona (or filaments) was the crown of thorns, and the stemmed ovary was the Lord's goblet.

Links to Passion Flower mythology:

Passion Flower - Name and Symbolism

Symbolism of the Passion Flower

What Strange Brew

Stories of plants in Folklore and Myth