''Passiflora suberosa'' is a species of

passionflower ''Passiflora'', known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 550 species of flowering plants, the type genus of the family Passifloraceae. They are mostly tendril-bearing vines, with some being shrubs or trees. They ...

that is native to the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. It is commonly known as corkystem passionflower due to the corkiness of older stems. Other common names include corky passion vine, cork-bark passion flower, corkstem passionflower and corky passionfruit. In Latin America it is called Meloncillo. It is possibly also

cryptic Cryptic may refer to: In science: * Cryptic species complex, a group of species that are very difficult to distinguish from one another * Crypsis, the ability of animals to blend in to avoid observation * Cryptic era, earliest period of the Earth ...

and have multiple species in one.

Description

Leaves and stems

It is a creeping or climbing perennial

liana A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...

up to 6 meters long. It has suberous stems in its lower part, glabrous to puberulent. The leaves are simple, alternate, entire to three-lobed, with both sides glabrous, shiny green. They are 4 to 12 centimeters long when elliptical and up to 5 cm long and 7 cm wide when deeply lobed, sharp lobes, base rounded to truncated, glabrous to puberulent; petioles 0.5–4 cm long, with a pair of conspicuous and stipitate glands in upper half; linear

stipules In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

. The plant is known for the fact that the leaves on one and the same plant vary greatly in shape and size. Another well-known phenomenon is that the lower part of the

trunk Trunk may refer to: Biology * Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso * Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure * Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy * Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant Computing * Trunk (software), in rev ...

becomes corky with aging.

Flowers and fruit

The melliferous flowers are solitary or in pairs, and grow in the leaf axils. Greenish or yellowish in color, they have 5 lanceolate sepals, but no petals. Flowering takes place from late summer to late winter. The inedible fruit is not hardy and transitions from green to indigo, purple and, lastly, black as it ripens. The glabrous fruits contain a multitude of tiny seeds in a dark blue pulp, which are dispersed by birds.

Range

Its range stretches from Florida and the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States south through Mexico, Central America, and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

to South America. In 1909, it was introduced in Polynesia and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is extremely prolific (up to 1000 seeds per square meter),

smothering Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...

any vegetation it grows on, including trees. In New Caledonia, it is prohibited to introduce the species into the wild.

Reproduction

Many clones of the plant are

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

. In winter, the plant is

hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, Sout ...

down to temperatures around 7 °C. It can be propagated by

sowing Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area or object that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area. Plants which are usually sown Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and leg ...

or cuttings. This species is a host plant for the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s of the Gulf fritillary (''

Agraulis vanillae The Gulf fritillary or passion butterfly (''Dione vanillae'') is a bright orange butterfly in the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae. That subfamily was formerly set apart as a separate family, the Heliconiidae. The Heliconiinae a ...

''), Julia heliconian (''

Dryas iulia ''Dryas iulia'' (often incorrectly spelled ''julia''),Lamas, G. (editor) (2004). Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Checklist: Part 4A. Hesperioidea – Papilionoidea. commonly called the Julia butterfly, Julia heliconian, the flame, or flambeau ...

''), Mexican silverspot (''

Dione moneta ''Dione moneta'', the Mexican silverspot, is a species of butterfly of the subfamily Heliconiinae in the family Nymphalidae found from southern United States to South America.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 ...

''), and zebra heliconian (''

Heliconius charithonia ''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 ...

''). It is a larval host plant for the glasswing butterfly (''

Acraea andromacha ''Acraea andromacha'', the glasswing or small greasy, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Australia, New Guinea and surrounding islands. See the subspecies section for more details. The wingspan is about 60 mm. The lar ...

'') in Australia.Braby, M.F., Butterflies of Australia; Their Identification, Biology and Distribution. CSIRO Publishing 2000

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2068761 suberosa Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Butterfly food plants Flora of the Caribbean Flora of Central America Flora of Florida Flora of Mexico Flora of South America Flora of the Rio Grande valleys Flora of Peru Flora without expected TNC conservation status