Passiflora Tenuiloba

''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 can be woody or herbaceous. Passion flowers produce regular and usually showy flowers with a distinctive corona. There can be as many as eight coronal series, as in the case of ''P. xiikzodz''. The flower is pentamerous and ripens into an indehiscent fruit with numerous seeds.

List of species

Distribution

''Passiflora'' has a largely neotropic distribution, unlike other genera in the family Passifloraceae, which includes more Old World species (such as the genus '' Adenia''). The vast majority of ''Passiflora'' are found in Mexico, Central America, the United States and South America, although there are additional representatives in Southeast Asia and Oceania. 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 (''P. caerulea'') now grows wild in Spain.Dana ''et al.'' 001/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. Pollinators of ''Passiflora'' include bumblebees, carpenter bees (e.g., '' Xylocopa sonorina''), wasps, bats, and hummingbirds (especially hermits such as '' Phaethornis''); some others are additionally capable of self-pollination. ''Passiflora'' often exhibit high levels of pollinator specificity, which has led to frequent coevolution across the genus. The sword-billed hummingbird (''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''.

The leaves are used for feeding by the larvae of a number of species of Lepidoptera. Famously, they are exclusively targeted by many butterfly species of the tribe Heliconiini, trichomes, variegation, 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 ( 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'')
** Asian leopard lacewing (''Cethosia cyane'').
** Postman butterfly (''Heliconius melpomene'') prefer '' P. menispermifolia'' and '' P. oerstedii''
** Zebra longwing (''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 ''Cibyra serta''
* Tawny Coster (''Acraea terpsicore'') feed on '' Passiflora edulis'', ''Passiflora foetida'' and ''Passiflora subpeltata''

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 diversity among all plant genera, with leaf shapes ranging from unlobed to five-lobed frequently found on the same plant. Coevolution can be a major driver of speciation, and may be responsible for the radiation of certain clades of ''Passiflora'' such as ''Tacsonia''.

The bracts 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-rich goo by proteases and acid phosphatases. Since the insects usually killed are rarely major pests, this passion flower seems to be a protocarnivorous plant.

Banana passion flower or "banana poka" (''P. tarminiana''), originally from Central Brazil, is an invasive weed, especially on the islands of Hawaii. It is commonly spread by feral pigs eating the fruits. It overgrows and smothers stands of endemic vegetation, mainly on roadsides. Blue passion flower (''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 and other forms of habitat destruction. For example, the Chilean passion flower