Editing Passiflora (section)

==Ecology==
{{multiple image
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| width = 190
| image1 =P foetida bracts.jpg
| alt1 =
| caption1 =[[Stinking passion flower]] or [[Wild water lemon]] (''P. foetida'') [[bract]]s with insect-catching hairs.
| image2 =Sword-billed Hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera).jpg
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| caption2 =The [[sword-billed hummingbird]] (''Ensifera ensifera'') is adapted to feed on ''[[Passiflora mixta]]'' and similar flowers.
| image3 =Passiflora in Canary Islands.JPG
| caption3 =An introduced ''Passiflora''  in the Canary Islands
| image4 = Passiflora white.JPG
| caption4 = ''Passiflora foetida'' in [[Tumkur]], [[India]]
| image5 = PassiFloraRed.jpg
| caption5 = Red colored passion flower in [[Mysore]], [[India]]
}}

Passion flowers have floral structures adapted for [[Pollination#Biotic|biotic pollination]]. Pollinators of ''Passiflora'' include [[bumblebee]]s, carpenter bees (e.g., ''[[Xylocopa sonorina]]''), [[wasp]]s, [[bat]]s, and [[hummingbird]]s (especially [[hermit (hummingbird)|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 [[Andes|Andean]] ''Passiflora'' in the supersection ''Tacsonia''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Abrahamczyk|first=S.|date=2014|title=Escape from extreme specialization: passionflowers, bats and the sword-billed hummingbird|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B|volume=281|issue=1795|doi=10.1098/rspb.2014.0888|pmid=25274372|page=20140888|pmc=4213610}}</ref>

The leaves are used for feeding by the [[larva]]e of a number of species of [[Lepidoptera]]. Famously, they are exclusively targeted by many butterfly species of the tribe [[Heliconiini]]. The many defensive adaptations visible on ''Passiflora'' include diverse leaf shapes (which help disguise their identity), colored nubs (which mimic butterfly eggs and can deter Heliconians from ovipositing on a seemingly crowded leaf), [[Nectar#Extrafloral nectaries|extrafloral nectaries]], [[trichome]]s, [[Variegation#Defensive masquerade|variegation]], and chemical defenses.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=de Castro|first1=É.C.P.|last2=Zagrobelny|first2=M.|last3=Cardoso|first3=M.Z.|last4=Bak|first4=S.|date=2017|title=The arms race between heliconiine butterflies and Passiflora plants - new insights on an ancient subject|journal=Biological Reviews|volume=93|issue=1|pages=555–573|doi=10.1111/brv.12357|pmid=28901723|s2cid=23953807}}</ref> These, combined with adaptations on the part of the butterflies, were important in the foundation of [[coevolution|coevolutionary theory]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ehrlich|first1=P.R.|last2=Raven|first2=P.H.|date=1964|title=Butterflies and Plants: A Study in Coevolution|journal=Evolution|volume=18|issue=4|pages=586–608|doi=10.2307/2406212|jstor=2406212}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Benson|first1=W.W|last2=Brown|first2=K.S.|last3=Gilbert|first3=L.E.|date=1975|title=Coevolution of plants and herbivores: passion flower butterflies|journal=Evolution|volume=29|issue=4|pages=659–680|doi=10.2307/2407076|pmid=28563089|jstor=2407076}}</ref>

Recent studies have shown that passiflora both grow faster and protect themselves better in high-nitrogen soils. In low-nitrogen environments, passiflora focus on growth rather than defense and are more vulnerable to herbivores.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Morrison |first1=Colin R. |last2=Hart |first2=Lauren |last3=Wolf |first3=Amelia A. |last4=Sedio |first4=Brian E. |last5=Armstrong |first5=Wyatt |last6=Gilbert |first6=Lawrence E. |date=2024-03-03 |title=Growth-chemical defence-metabolomic expression trade-off is relaxed as soil nutrient availability increases for a tropical passion vine |url=https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.14537 |journal=Functional Ecology |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=1320–1337 |language=en |doi=10.1111/1365-2435.14537 |issn=0269-8463|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The following lepidoptera larvae are known to feed on ''Passiflora'':
* Longwing [[butterflies]] ([[Heliconiinae]])
** [[Heliconius cydno|Cydno longwing]] (''Heliconius cydno''), one of few Heliconians to feed on multiple species of ''Passiflora''<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Merrill|first1=R.M.|last2=Naisbit|first2=R.E.|last3=Mallet|first3=J.|last4=Jiggins|first4=C.D.|date=2013|title=Ecological and genetic factors influencing the transition between host-use strategies in sympatric Heliconius butterflies|url=http://doc.rero.ch/record/32972/files/nai_egf.pdf|journal=Journal of Evolutionary Biology|volume=26|issue=9|pages=1959–1967|doi=10.1111/jeb.12194|pmid=23961921|s2cid=11632731}}</ref>
** [[Gulf fritillary]] (''Agraulis vanillae''), which feeds on several species of ''Passiflora'', such as ''[[Passiflora lutea]]'', ''Passiflora affinis'',<ref name="byron beauty">{{cite journal|last1=Knight|first1=R.J.|last2=Payne|first2=J.A.|last3=Schnell|first3=R.J.|last4=Amis|first4=A.A.|title='Byron Beauty', An Ornamental Passion Vine for the Temperate Zone|journal=HortScience|date=1995|volume=30|issue=5|page=1112|doi=10.21273/HORTSCI.30.5.1112|url=http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/30/5/1112.full.pdf|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="host plants">{{cite journal |last1=Neck |first1=Raymond W. |date=1976 |title=Lepidopteran Foodplant Records from Texas |url=http://lepidopteraresearchfoundation.org/backissues/Vol%2015%20(1976).pdf |journal=[[The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera]] |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=75–82 |doi=10.5962/p.333709 |s2cid=248733989 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=9 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609053229/http://www.lepidopteraresearchfoundation.org/backissues/Vol%2015%20(1976).pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> stinking passion flower (''P.&nbsp;foetida''),<ref>Soule, J.A. 2012. Butterfly Gardening in Southern Arizona. Tierra del Soule Press, Tucson, AZ</ref> and [[Maypop]] (''P.&nbsp;incarnata'')
** American [[Sara longwing]] (''Heliconius sara'')
** Red postman (''[[Heliconius erato]]'')
** Asian [[leopard lacewing]] (''Cethosia cyane'')
** [[Postman butterfly]] (''Heliconius melpomene'') prefer ''[[Passiflora menispermifolia|P.&nbsp;menispermifolia]]'' and ''[[Passiflora oerstedii|P.&nbsp;oerstedii]]''
** [[Zebra longwing]] (''Heliconius charithonia'') feed on yellow passion flower, [[two-flowered passion flower]] (''P.&nbsp;biflora''), and [[corky-stemmed passion flower]] (''P.&nbsp;suberosa'').
** [[Banded orange]] (''Dryadula phaetusa'') feed on ''[[Passiflora tetrastylis|P. tetrastylis]]''.
** [[Julia butterfly]] (''Dryas iulia'') feed on yellow passion flower and ''[[Passiflora affinis|P. affinis]]''.
* [[Swift moth]] ''[[Cibyra serta]]''
* [[Acraea terpsicore|Tawny Coster]] (''Acraea terpsicore'') feed on ''[[Passiflora edulis]]'',<ref name="Nitin-2018">{{Cite journal|last1=Nitin|first1=Ravikanthachari|last2=Balakrishnan|first2=V. C.|last3=Churi|first3=Paresh V.|last4=Kalesh|first4=S.|last5=Prakash|first5=Satya|last6=Kunte|first6=Krushnamegh|date=2018-04-10|title=Larval host plants of the butterflies of the Western Ghats, India|url=http://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/3104|journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa|volume=10|issue=4|pages=11495|doi=10.11609/jott.3104.10.4.11495-11550|issn=0974-7907|doi-access=free}}</ref> ''[[Passiflora foetida]]''<ref name="Nitin-2018" /> and ''[[Passiflora subpeltata]]''<ref name="Nitin-2018" /> 

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 [[leaf|foliar]] diversity among all plant genera,<ref name="Killip 1938">{{Cite book|last=Killip|first=E.P.|date=1938|title=The American Species of Passifloraceae|publisher=Field Museum of Natural History|location=Chicago, US}}</ref> with leaf shapes ranging from unlobed to five-lobed frequently found on the same plant.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chitwood|first1=D.|last2=Otoni|first2=W.|date=2017|title=Divergent leaf shapes among Passiflora species arise from a shared juvenile morphology|journal=Plant Direct|volume=1|issue=5|pages=e00028|doi=10.1002/pld3.28|pmid=31245674|pmc=6508542|doi-access=free|bibcode=2017PlanD...1E..28C }}</ref> [[Coevolution]] can be a major driver of speciation, and may be responsible for the radiation of certain clades of ''Passiflora'' such as ''Tacsonia''.

The [[bract]]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]]-rich goo by [[protease]]s and [[acid phosphatase]]s. Since the insects usually killed are rarely major [[Pest (organism)|pests]], this passion flower seems to be a [[protocarnivorous plant]].<ref name="Radhamani et al 1995">{{cite journal |last1=Radhamani |first1=T R |last2=Sudarshana |first2=L |last3=Krishnan |first3=R |title=Defense and carnivory: dual role of bracts in Passiflort foetida |journal=Journal of Biosciences |date=1995 |volume=20 |page=657–664 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02703305 |access-date=29 April 2025}}</ref>

[[Banana passion flower]] or "banana poka" (''P.&nbsp;tarminiana''), originally from Central [[Brazil]], is an [[invasive species|invasive]] [[weed]], especially on the islands of [[Hawaii]]. It is commonly spread by [[feral]] [[pig]]s eating the fruits. It overgrows and smothers stands of [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] vegetation, mainly on roadsides. [[Blue passion flower]] (''P.&nbsp;caerulea'') is an invasive species in Spain and considered likely to threaten ecosystems there.<ref name = danaetal2001 />

On the other hand, some species are [[endangered]] due to unsustainable [[logging]] and other forms of [[habitat destruction]]. For example, the Chilean passion flower (''[[Passiflora pinnatistipula|P.&nbsp;pinnatistipula]]'') is a rare vine growing in the Tropical [[Andes]] southwards from [[Venezuela]] between {{convert|2,500 and 3,800|m}} in altitude, and in Coastal Central Chile, where it only occurs in a few tens of square kilometres of fog forest by the sea, near Zapallar. ''P.&nbsp;pinnatistipula'' has a round fruit, unusual in ''Tacsonia'' group species like banana passion flower and ''[[Passiflora mixta|P.&nbsp;mixta]]'', with their elongated tubes and brightly red to rose-colored petals.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

Notable and sometimes economically significant [[pathogen]]s of ''Passiflora'' are several [[sac fungi]] of the genus ''[[Septoria]]'' (including ''[[Septoria passiflorae|S.&nbsp;passiflorae]]''), the undescribed [[proteobacterium]] called "''[[Pseudomonas tomato]]''" ([[Pathovar|pv.]] ''passiflorae''), the ''[[Potyvirus]]'' ''[[passionfruit woodiness virus]]'', and the ''[[Carlavirus]]'' ''[[Passiflora latent virus]]''.