''Passiflora'', known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of about 550

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s, the type genus of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Passifloraceae The Passifloraceae are a family of flowering plants, containing about 750 species classified in around 27 genera. They include trees, shrubs, lianas, and climbing plants, and are mostly found in tropical regions. The family takes its name from t ...

. They are mostly tendril-bearing

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

s, with some being

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s or

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s. They can be

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

y or

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

. Passion flowers produce regular and usually showy

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s with a distinctive corona. There can be as many as eight coronal series, as in the case of ''P. xiikzodz''. The flower is

pentamerous Merosity (from the greek "méros," which means "having parts") refers to the number of component parts in a distinct whorl of a plant structure. The term is most commonly used in the context of a flower where it refers to the number of sepals in a ...

and ripens into an indehiscent fruit with numerous seeds.

List of species

Distribution

''Passiflora'' has a largely

neotropic The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

distribution, unlike other genera in the family

, which includes more

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

species (such as the genus ''

Adenia ''Adenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the passionflower family, Passifloraceae. It is distributed in the Old World tropics and subtropics.

''). The vast majority of ''Passiflora'' are found in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, although there are additional representatives in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

and

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

. New species continue to be identified: for example, '' P. xishuangbannaensis'' and '' P. pardifolia'' have only been known to the scientific community since 2005 and 2006, respectively. Some species of ''Passiflora'' have been naturalized beyond their native ranges. For example, the

blue passion flower ''Passiflora caerulea'', the blue passionflower, bluecrown passionflower or common passion flower, is a species of flowering plant native to South America. It has been introduced elsewhere. It is a vigorous, deciduous or semi-evergreen tendril vi ...

(''P. caerulea'') now grows wild in Spain.Dana ''et al.''

001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to: *1 (number), a number, a numeral *001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent *001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986) *AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...

/ref> The purple passionfruit (''P. edulis'') and its yellow relative ''flavicarpa'' have been introduced in many tropical regions as commercial crops.

Ecology

Passion flowers have floral structures adapted for

biotic pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...

. Pollinators of ''Passiflora'' include

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

s, carpenter bees (e.g., ''

Xylocopa sonorina ''Xylocopa sonorina'', the valley carpenter bee or Hawaiian carpenter bee, is a species of carpenter bee found from western Texas to northern California, and the eastern Pacific islands.Hurd, Jr., Paul (1958).The carpenter bees of the eastern Pa ...

''),

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

s, and

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

s (especially

hermits A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

such as '' Phaethornis''); some others are additionally capable of

self-pollination Self-pollination is a form of pollination in which pollen from the same plant arrives at the Stigma (botany), stigma of a flower (in flowering plants) or at the ovule (in gymnosperms). There are two types of self-pollination: in autogamy, pollen i ...

. ''Passiflora'' often exhibit high levels of pollinator specificity, which has led to frequent coevolution across the genus. The

sword-billed hummingbird The sword-billed hummingbird (''Ensifera ensifera''), also known as the swordbill, is a neotropical species of hummingbird from the Andean regions of South America. It is the only member in the genus ''Ensifera.'' Among the largest species of ...

(''Ensifera ensifera'') is a notable example: it, with its immensely elongated bill, is the sole pollinator of 37 species of high Andean ''Passiflora'' in the supersection ''Tacsonia''. Knospe der Passionsblume

The leaves are used for feeding by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of a number of species of

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

. Famously, they are exclusively targeted by many butterfly species of the tribe

Heliconiini Heliconiini is a tribe of butterflies in the subfamily Heliconiinae, also known as the passion-vine butterflies. This group has roughly 100 species and subspecies distributed primarily in the Neotropics.extrafloral nectaries Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to anim ...

trichome Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a pla ...

variegation Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves and sometimes the stems and fruit of plants. Species with variegated individuals are sometimes found in the understory of tropical rainforests, and this habitat is the s ...

, and chemical defenses. These, combined with adaptations on the part of the butterflies, were important in the foundation of coevolutionary theory. The following lepidoptera larvae are known to feed on ''Passiflora'': * Longwing

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

( Heliconiinae) ** Cydno longwing (''Heliconius cydno''), one of few Heliconians to feed on multiple species of ''Passiflora'' ** Gulf fritillary (''Agraulis vanillae''), which feeds on several species of ''Passiflora'', such as '' Passiflora lutea'', ''Passiflora affinis'', stinking passion flower (''P. foetida''), and Maypop (''P. incarnata'') ** American Sara longwing (''Heliconius sara'') ** Red postman (''

Heliconius erato ''Heliconius erato'', or the red postman, is one of about 40 neotropical species of butterfly belonging to the genus ''Heliconius''. It is also commonly known as the small postman, the red passion flower butterfly, or the crimson-patched longwing ...

'') ** Asian

leopard lacewing ''Cethosia cyane'', the leopard lacewing, is a species of Heliconiinae, heliconiine butterfly found from India to southern China (southern Yunnan), and Indochina. Its range has expanded in the last few decades, and its arrival in the southern par ...

(''Cethosia cyane''). **

Postman butterfly ''Heliconius melpomene'', the postman butterfly, common postman or simply postman, is a brightly colored butterfly found throughout Central and South America. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae' ...

(''Heliconius melpomene'') prefer '' P. menispermifolia'' and '' P. oerstedii'' **

Zebra longwing ''Heliconius charithonia'', the zebra longwing or zebra heliconian, is a species of butterfly belonging to the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of ''Systema Natura ...

(''Heliconius charithonia'') feed on yellow passion flower, two-flowered passion flower ('' P. biflora''), and corky-stemmed passion flower ('' P. suberosa'') ** Banded orange (''Dryadula phaetusa'') feed on '' P. tetrastylis'' ** Julia butterfly (''Dryas iulia'') feed on yellow passion flower and '' P. affinis'' *

Swift moth The Hepialidae are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths. Taxonomy and systematics The Hepialidae constitute by far the most diverse group of the infraorder Exopo ...

Cibyra serta ''Cibyra serta'' is a species of moth of the family Hepialidae. It is known from Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by ...

'' *

Tawny Coster Tawny may refer to: * Tawny (given name), a feminine given name * Tawny (color) * Tawny port, a fortified wine * ''Tawny'', a 1954 record album by Jackie Gleason * Tawny, a townland in Kilcar, County Donegal, Ireland See also * Tenné In her ...

(''Acraea terpsicore'') feed on '' Passiflora edulis'', ''

Passiflora foetida ''Passiflora foetida'' (common names: stinking passionflower, wild maracuja, bush passion fruit, wild water lemon, stoneflower, love-in-a-mist, or running pop) is a species of passion flower that is native to the southwestern United States (south ...

'' and ''

Passiflora subpeltata ''Passiflora subpeltata'', commonly known as white passionflower, is a passion flower bearing yellow-green fruits. It is a vining plant with three-lobed leaves and 2-3 ornate flowers. It is grown as an ornamental plant. This vine is also a margi ...

'' The generally high pollinator and parasite specificity in ''Passiflora'' may have led to the tremendous morphological variation in the genus. It is thought to have among the highest

foliar A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

diversity among all plant genera, with leaf shapes ranging from unlobed to five-lobed frequently found on the same plant.

Coevolution In biology, coevolution occurs when two or more species reciprocally affect each other's evolution through the process of natural selection. The term sometimes is used for two traits in the same species affecting each other's evolution, as well ...

can be a major driver of speciation, and may be responsible for the radiation of certain clades of ''Passiflora'' such as ''Tacsonia''. The

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s of the stinking passion flower are covered by hairs which exude a sticky fluid. Many small insects get stuck to this and get digested to

nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

-rich goo by

protease A protease (also called a peptidase, proteinase, or proteolytic enzyme) is an enzyme that catalyzes (increases reaction rate or "speeds up") proteolysis, breaking down proteins into smaller polypeptides or single amino acids, and spurring the ...

s and

acid phosphatase Acid phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.2, acid phosphomonoesterase', phosphomonoesterase, glycerophosphatase, acid monophosphatase, acid phosphohydrolase, acid phosphomonoester hydrolase, uteroferrin, acid nucleoside diphosphate phosphatase, orthophosphoric-m ...

s. Since the insects usually killed are rarely major

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

, this passion flower seems to be a

protocarnivorous plant A protocarnivorous plant (sometimes also paracarnivorous, subcarnivorous, or borderline carnivore), according to some definitions, traps and kills insects or other animals but lacks the ability to either directly digest or absorb nutrients from i ...

. Banana passion flower or "banana poka" (''P. tarminiana''), originally from Central

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, is an

invasive Invasive may refer to: *Invasive (medical) procedure *Invasive species *Invasive observation, especially in reference to surveillance *Invasively progressive spread of disease from one organ in the body to another, especially in reference to cancer ...

weed, especially on the islands of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. It is commonly spread by feral pigs eating the fruits. It overgrows and smothers stands of endemic vegetation, mainly on roadsides.

Blue passion flower ''Passiflora caerulea'', the blue passionflower, bluecrown passionflower or common passion flower, is a species of flowering plant native to South America. It has been introduced elsewhere. It is a vigorous, deciduous or semi-evergreen tendril vi ...

(''P. caerulea'') is holding its own in Spain these days, and it probably needs to be watched so that unwanted spreading can be curtailed. On the other hand, some species are endangered due to unsustainable

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

and other forms of habitat destruction. For example, the

Chilean passion flower Chilean may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Chile, a country in South America * Chilean people * Chilean Spanish * Chilean culture * Chilean cuisine * Chilean Americans See also *List of Chileans *