|
The Passion fruit or Passionflower vine, botanically called Passiflora, gets its name from Dr. Nicholas Monardes, a Spanish missionary, who found it a wonderful tool and a far more peaceful way for teaching the indigenous people of South America Christian doctrine, especially the Passion of Christ. The Passionflower it seemed had all the elements required for this.
Passionflower has a lacy “crown” formed by fine-fringed filaments which symbolizes the crown of thorns Jesus wore. Its five stamens represent the five wounds Jesus received and the stigmata symbolize the three nails used for the crucifixion . The ten petals and sepals represent the ten faithful apostles. Judas who betrayed Jesus and Peter who denied ever knowing him were the two missing un-faithful followers. The pointed leaves signify the lance used to pierce Jesus’ side and the tendrils symbolize the whips used on him. The ovary is in a shape similar to a chalice and therefore represents the Holy Grail. The colors of blue and white symbolize heaven and purity.
To this man who felt guilty for the brutal manner in which his countrymen had forced Christianity on the natives the Passion fruit vine eased his mind and saw it as a sign from God to continue “educating” the natives. Unknown to the Spanish missionaries the Passion fruit vine had been valuable to the Incas for some considerable time before the mid 1500's when the intruders first came into their once peaceful lives. The natives of South America where the Passion fruit vine grows prolifically used the leaves and flowers of this plant to make a soothing tea good for the nervous condition, insomnia and as an antispasmodic, a tranquilizer and a digestive aid.
Some herbalists when introduced to this lovely plant and not knowing to what the “passion” in Passion fruit vine referred recommended Passionflower tea as an aphrodisiac. They were, needless to say, quite disappointed when this tonic instead of bringing on amorous behavior in their intended actually put them into such a relaxed state that they promptly fell asleep. So much for passion from the Passion fruit vine!
All these things combined, however, made the Passion fruit vine very desirable to Europeans who not only used it as a mild sedative but also loved it in their gardens. It likes full sun, moderate water and can tolerate most soils. It is a beautiful plant though it takes a diligent and forceful hand to keep in check. Careful and frequent pruning is needed to ensure no tangled mess of dead twigs in the center and to maintain an open structure. It can be trained on a fence, trellis covered wall, as a ground cover or cascading over a rock wall.
Passion fruit vine, a favorite of the caterpillar of the Gulf Fritillary butterfly, is either an evergreen, semi-evergreen or deciduous vine although some of the 500 or so species grow more as a shrub. All are prolific bloomers and vigorous growers almost to the point of invasiveness in some regions. For this reason many gardeners have used the Passion fruit vine as ground covers to prevent soil erosion in hard-to-manage, sloping areas. It can climb 20-30 feet high but requires warm weather to blossom. Not all varieties produce edible fruit.
Passiflora alatocaerulea is the most widely grown but only for its beauty for it does not bear fruit. This evergreen or semi-evergreen vine has 3-4 inch wide flowers, highly fragrant and a deep blue or purple with white, pink and lavender shaded “crowns”. The 3 inch long, 3 lobed leaves may fall off in cold regions. Only hardy to Zone 7 at best with a great deal of mulch to protect the roots and when planted in a protective place such as against a wall, out of the wind and under an overhang. The Passion fruit vine will die down to the ground regardless of all this care but should reemerge when the weather warms.
Passiflora Edulis is semi-evergreen, hardy to zone 9, with yellowish green leaves, 3 lobed and deeply toothed. The 2 inch bloom is white with a white and purple crown. Deep purple fruit produced in spring and autumn are 3 inches long and fragrant. There is also a cultivar with yellow fruit. The cultivar “Nancy Garrison” is slightly more hardy, to zone 8.
Passiflora Incarnata, the deciduous wild Passion fruit vine sometimes called Maypop, is a native to the southeastern US and is the hardiest of the Passion fruit vines, to zone 6 with winter protection. The leaves are 3 lobed and 4-6 inched wide. The flowers are 2-3 inches wide, white or pale lavender with bands of pink or purple on the crown. The edible fruit is 2 inches long and yellow. Though not usually found in garden stores this one is easily grown from seed if you can find some in the wild. Makes a great ground cover.
Passiflora “Incense” is also deciduous and hardy to zone 7. Its flowers are the largest at 5 inched wide and have a scent similar to the Sweet Pea. The 2 inch long egg-shaped, fragrant and tasty fruit goes from olive green to yellow before it ripens and drops.
Passiflora Jamessonii (sold as “Coral Seas”), hardy to zone 9, is a very pretty, evergreen vine with salmon to coral blossoms up to 4 inched across. Excellent to quickly cover a fence.
The Passion fruit or Passionflower vine though possibly considered a bit of a nuisance by some is well worth having in the warm weather landscape. Keeping it safely away from trees and shrubs is the key to making it and the gardener happy. If you live in colder areas which would disallow such a tropical plant to thrive, you might want to keep it in a large container to be brought inside after the weather cools. It also makes a nice house plant and you don’t even have to be Christian to enjoy it.
|
Author Bio Box: Glory Lennon
 Visit http://www.helium.com/users/32782 for more fascinating gardening lessons, amusing short stories and intriguing novel excerpts.
Didn't really find what you were looking for?
|
|
|
| |
|
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](images/rss.gif "Subscribe to our XML Feed for RSS")
(Read 500+ times)
