Editing Passiflora caerulea

{{short description|Species of flowering plant in the passion flower family Passifloraceae}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Passiflora caerulea (2019-06-24) frontal-view.jpg
| image2 = Passiflora caerulea (2005 10 08) - vrucht open (2).jpg
| image2_caption = Fruit cut and opened
| genus = Passiflora
| species = caerulea
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
}}

'''''[[Passiflora]] caerulea''''', the '''blue passionflower''',<ref name=BSBI07>{{BSBI 2007 |access-date=2014-10-17 }}</ref> '''bluecrown passionflower'''<ref>{{PLANTS|id=PACA22|taxon=Passiflora caerulea|access-date=31 January 2016}}</ref> or '''common passion flower''', is a [[species]] of [[Flowering Plants of Summer and Autumn|flowering plant]] [[native plant|native]] to South America. It has been introduced elsewhere. It is a vigorous, [[deciduous]] or semi-[[evergreen]] [[tendril]] bearing [[vine]] growing to {{cvt|10|m|ft|0}} or more. Its leaves are palmately lobed, and its fragrant flowers are blue-white with a prominent fringe of [[Corona (perianth)|coronal]] filaments in bands of blue, white, yellow, and brown. The ovoid orange fruit, growing to {{cvt|6|cm|0}}, is edible, but is variously described as having a bland,<ref name=RHSAZ>{{cite book|title=RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants|year=2008|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=United c ZKingdom|isbn=978-1405332 965|pages=1136}}</ref> undesirable,<ref name="cabi"/> or insipid taste.<ref name="tetraphyllin b"/> In South America, the plant is known for its medicinal properties, and is used by both the [[Toma people|Toba]] and the [[Makaa people|Maka]] peoples.<ref name="cabi"/><ref name="mendiondo"/>

==Etymology==
The [[Binomial nomenclature|specific epithet]] ''caerulea'' means "qara and refers to the blue colonial filaments.<ref name=RHSLG>{{cite book|last=Harrison|first=Lorraine|title=RHS Latin for gardeners|year=2012|publisher=Mitchell Beazley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=9781845337315|pages=224}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Passiflora caerulea (makro close-up).jpg|thumbnail|left|''Passiflora caerulea'' flower]]
===Vegetative characteristics===
''Passiflora caerulea'' is a woody vine capable of growing to {{convert|25|m|ft}} high where supporting [[tree]]s are available.<ref name = "keys">{{cite web |title=Factsheet - Passiflora caerulea (Blue Passionflower) |url=https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/eafrinet/weeds/key/weeds/Media/Html/Passiflora_caerulea_(Blue_Passionflower).htm |website=keys.lucidcentral.org |access-date=14 August 2018}}</ref> The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternate, palmately five-lobed (sometimes three, seven, or nine lobes), and are up to {{convert|10|cm|in}} in length while being linear-oblong shaped.<ref name = "PIER">{{cite web |title=Passiflora caerulea: info from PIER (PIER species info) |url=http://www.hear.org/pier/species/passiflora_caerulea.htm |website=www.hear.org |publisher=Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project (PIER) |access-date=14 August 2018}}</ref> The base of each leaf has a flagellate-twining tendril {{convert|5|–|10|cm|in}} long, which twines around supporting vegetation to hold the plant up.<ref name = "keys"/>
===Generative characteristics===
The [[flower]] is complex, about {{convert|10|cm|in}} in diameter,<ref name = "PIER"/> with the five sepals and petals similar in appearance, whitish in colour, surmounted by a corona of blue or violet filaments, then five greenish-yellow [[stamen]]s and three purple [[stigma (botany)|stigma]]s.<ref name = "keys"/> The [[fruit]] is an oval orange-yellow [[Berry (botany)|berry]], {{convert|6|cm|in}} long by {{convert|4|cm|in}} in diameter, containing numerous [[seed]]s.<ref name = "keys"/> It is edible to humans when ripe, but tends to have an undesirable flavour<ref name="cabi">{{cite web |last1=Popay |first1=Ian |title=Passiflora caerulea (blue passionflower) |url=https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/116172 |website=www.cabi.org |access-date=14 August 2018}}</ref> unless allowed to fully ripen in a warm climate and fall naturally from the vine, when it has a mild blackberry flavour, though with a lower sugar content than commonly eaten species.

==Cultivation==
''Passiflora caerulea'' is widely cultivated as a wall-climber or as groundcover. Though hardy down to {{cvt|-10|C|F|abbr=on}}, it requires a sheltered position facing south or west (in the Northern Hemisphere). It can become invasive, the twining shoots constantly appearing unless eradicated. It is the only Passiflora species which [[volunteers]] in California. It has gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[Award of Garden Merit]].<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Passiflora caerulea''|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=1386|access-date=25 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807063959/http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=1386|archive-date=7 August 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Cultivars===
[[File:Passiflora caerulea Constance Elliot (3).jpg|thumb|White flowered cultivar ''Passiflora caerulea'' 'Constance Elliott']]
A number of [[cultivar]]s have been produced from the species:

*'Chinensis' (corona filaments paler blue)
*'Constance Elliott' was raised by Kucombe and Prince in Exeter, [[Great Britain]]. It has pure white, fragrant flowers; not as free-flowering as many other [[Cloning|clones]]. It has also won the Award of Garden Merit from the [[Royal Horticultural Society]].<ref name = RHSPF>{{cite web 
| url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/305875/i-Passiflora-caerulea-i-Constance-Eliott/Details
| title = RHS Plantfinder - ''Passiflora caerulea'' 'Constance Elliott' | access-date = 18 April 2018}}</ref>
*'Pierre Pomie', a pale pink flower form

==Chemical constituents==
Compared to ''Passiflora incarnata'', this plant contains higher amounts of the [[Monoamine oxidase inhibitor|MAO-inhibitor]] [[harmine]].<ref>{{cite journal| doi = 10.33697/ajur.2007.020 | doi-access = free | title = Extraction, Identification, and Quantification of Harmala Alkaloids in Three Species of Passiflora | year = 2007 | last1 = Frye | first1 = Abigail | last2 = Haustein | first2 = Catherine | journal = American Journal of Undergraduate Research | volume = 6 | issue = 3 }}</ref>

==Uses==
[[File:Blue Passion Flower and Fruit.jpg|thumb|''Passiflora caerulea'' flower and fruit]]
Though the fruit is edible, it is rather insipid when eaten raw. A tea can be made of the flower or leaves; however, tetraphyllin B and epi-tetraphyllin B,  [[cyanogenic glycoside]]s which liberate [[hydrogen cyanide]] when activated by enzymes, have been found in the leaves. It is possible to boil away most of the cyanide.<ref name="tetraphyllin b">DS Seiglera, KC Spencera, WS Statlerb, EE Connb, JE Dunnb, '[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0031942282851911 Tetraphyllin B and epitetraphyillin B sulphates: Novel cyanogenic glucosides from Passiflora caerulea and P. alato-caerulea]', ''Phytochemistry'', 21/9 (1982), 2277-2285.</ref>

In [[South America]], the plant is known for its medicinal uses. It is used in both herbal tea and dietary supplements, as well as in marmalades, ice creams, syrups and beverages.<ref name="cabi"/><ref name="mendiondo">{{cite journal |last1=Mendiondo |first1=G.M. |last2=García |first2=M.T.A. |date=2009 |title=Germination of stored and scarified seeds of ''Passiflora caerulea'' L. (Passifloraceae). |url=https://www.cabi.org/isc/abstract/20093350304 |journal=Plant Biosystems |volume=143 |issue=2 |pages=369–376 |doi=10.1080/11263500902722709 |bibcode=2009PBios.143..369M |s2cid=86722536 |issn=1126-3504 |access-date=28 August 2022|hdl=11336/27122 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> It is also used by the indigenous Argentinian [[Toba people|Toba]] and [[Makaa people|Maka]] people.

''Passiflora caerulea'' is sometimes used as a rootstock, to which is grafted a scion of the edible ''[[Passiflora edulis]]''.<ref name="nelliekelly-passionfruit">{{cite web |title=Passionfruit |url=https://nelliekelly.com.au/passionfruit/ |website=Nellie Kelly |access-date=31 October 2023 |ref=nelliekelly-passionfruit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025084337/https://nelliekelly.com.au/passionfruit/ |archive-date=25 October 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The passion flower is the national flower of [[Paraguay]]. Its intricate structure has generated [[Christian symbolism]], each part representing a different part of the [[Passion (Christianity)|Passion of Christ]]. The "[[Etymology]] and names" section of ''[[Passiflora]]'' contains more information about this [[Symbolism (arts)|symbolism]].

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Fleur de jardin.JPG|Flower
File:Passiflora caerulea (2005 10 08) - vrucht.jpg|Fruit
File:South Central Farm 45.jpg|Flower of ''Passiflora caerulea''
File:Passiflora caerulea 'Constance Elliot'.jpg|'Constance Elliot', a white flowered cultivar
File:Passiflora "Pierre Pomié".jpg|'Pierre Pomie', a pale pink flowered cultivar
File:Passiflora-caerulea 2019-06-23 (DSC2447-1).jpg|Peculiarity: two fused filaments force anthers upwards, displaying pollen beds otherwise not visible from this perspective.
File:Passiflora caerulea -Passiflore bleue-Fleurs-20210705.jpg|''Passiflora caerulea'' flower
File:Passiflora caerulea seeds.jpg|The seeds of ''P. caerulea'', the red gel-like substance around them removed
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}} 
*[http://www.topwalks.net/plants/blue/passiflora_caerulea_more.htm Topwalks.net: ''Passiflora caerulea'']

{{Passiflora}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q161120}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Passiflora|caerulea]]
[[Category:Flora of Argentina]]
[[Category:Flora of Brazil]]
[[Category:Flora of Uruguay]]
[[Category:Garden plants of South America]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]