The Passifloraceae are a

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 ...

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, containing about 750 species classified in around 27 genera. They include

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

s, and climbing plants, and are mostly found in tropical regions. The family takes its name from the passion flower genus (''

Passiflora ''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 ...

'') which includes the edible passion fruit (''

Passiflora edulis ''Passiflora edulis,'' commonly known as passion fruit, is a vine species of passion flower native to southern Brazil through Paraguay and northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its sweet, seedy ...

''), as well as garden plants such as

maypop ''Passiflora incarnata'', commonly known as maypop, purple passionflower, true passionflower, wild apricot, and wild passion vine, is a fast-growing perennial vine with climbing or trailing stems. A member of the passionflower genus ''Passiflora ...

and running pop. ''Passiflora'' vines and ''

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 ...

'' (among other heliconian butterflies) have demonstrated evidence of

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 ...

, in which the plants attempted to stop their destruction from larval feeding by the butterflies, while the butterflies tried to gain better survival for their eggs. The former

Cronquist system The Cronquist system is a taxonomic classification system of flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in a series of monographs and texts, including ''The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants'' (1968; 2nd edition, 1988) a ...

of classification placed this family in the order

Violales Violales is a botanical name of an order of flowering plants and takes its name from the included family Violaceae; it was proposed by Lindley (1853). The name has been used in several systems, although some systems used the name Parietales for ...

, but under more modern classifications systems such as that proposed by the

Angiosperm Phylogeny Group The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants (angiosperms) that reflects new knowledge about plant relationships disco ...

, this is absorbed into the

Malpighiales The Malpighiales comprise one of the largest orders of flowering plants, containing about 36 families and more than species, about 7.8% of the eudicots. The order is very diverse, containing plants as different as the willow, violet, poinsett ...

and the family has been expanded to include the former Malesherbiaceae and

Turneraceae Turneraceae Kunth ex DC. () is a family of flowering plants consisting of 120 species in 10 genera. The Cronquist system placed the Turneracids in the order Violales, but it is not currently recognized as a family by the Angiosperm Phylogeny ...

Genera

Subfamily Malesherbioideae

*''

Malesherbia ''Malesherbia'' is a genus of flowering plants consisting of 25 species in the Passifloraceae. This is a xerophytic group endemic to the Peruvian and Chilean deserts and adjacent Argentina. The genus is currently recognized by the APG III system ...

'' Ruiz & Pav.

Subfamily Pibirioideae

* ''

Pibiria ''Pibiria'' is a genus consisting of only one species, ''Pibiria flava''. The genus is the only member of the subfamily Pibirioideae (Passifloraceae). ''Pibiria flava'' ''Pibiria flava'', the sole member of ''Pibiria'', was identified, but unc ...

'' Maas

Subfamily Passifloroideae

Subfamily Turneroideae

Excluded genera

*''

Abatia ''Abatia'' (syn. ''Raleighia'' Gardner) is a genus of about ten species of Central and South American trees in the family Salicaceae (following the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification). Previously, it was treated in the family Flacourti ...

'' Ruiz & Pav. →

Salicaceae The Salicaceae is the willow family of flowering plants. The traditional family (Salicaceae ''sensu stricto'') included the willows, poplar, aspen, and cottonwoods. Genetic studies summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) have greatly ...

*''

Aphaerema ''Aphaerema'' was formerly a genus of flowering plants in the Flacourtiaceae, consisting of one species of small shrubs, '' Aphaerema spicata'', which is native to Brazil and Argentina. Later studies indicated that ''Aphaerema'' should be classifi ...

'' Miers → Salicaceae

Phylogeny

References

External links

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Passiflora OnlineThe Passiflora Society International
{{Authority control Malpighiales families