Passion Flower Family, Passifloraceae

Passion Flowers (Passion Vines) are members of the family Passifloraceae and are quite common on Wafer Creek Ranch where two species have been identified, purple passionflower, Passiflora incarnata, and yellow passionflower, Passiflora lutea.

Purple Passion Vine Passiflora incarnata

Yellow Passion Flower Passiflora lutea

Both are vines and are host plants for the gulf fritillary and variegated fritillary butterflies and several other butterflies and moths. Additionally, the flowers are good nectar providers for insects and hummingbirds and the fruit is eaten by birds.

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly gathering nectar from hairy cluster vine blossom.

Variegated Fritillary Butterfly

The purple passionflower is particularly robust, large and hardy, and they are fast growers over the warm months of the year.

Purple Passion Vine Passiflora incarnata

The fruit (passion fruit) is edible and purple passionflower is even cultivated as a food. The fruit is sometimes called maypop because if you step on one, it indeed may pop.

Passion fruit on purple passion flower (Passiflora incarnata)

The native range of both species are the southern Midwest and eastern North America.

Yellow Passion Flower Passiflora lutea

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Conservationist and retired medical doctor (pathology), Johnny Armstrong and his wife Karen and Opal (k-nine) live within a Nature Conservancy protected old-growth forest and woodland near Ruston, Louisiana. Shadowshine is his first novel..