Passionflower

(Passiflora incarnata)

Other Names:
Maypop, purple passionflower, wild passion flower, wild passion vine, wild apricot, apricot vine

Range:


Family:
Passifloraceae - Passionflower Family

Growth Type:
A fast growing perennial vine.

Height:
Can grow 5 - 8 feet tall

Leaves:
Measuring 2-1/2 in to 6", the 3-5 lobed palmate leaves grow alternately along the stem. The leaves have two glands at the base of the petiole.

Stem/Trunk:
The stems can be glabrous (smooth) or pubescent (hairy), climbing or trailing.

Root:
Taproot

Flower Season:
Mid-summer

Flower Appearance:
have five bluish-white petals. They exhibit a white and purple corona, a structure of fine appendages between the petals and stamens. The large flower is typically arranged in a ring above the petals and sepals.

Seed/Fruit:
The edible, fleshy, fruit, also referred to as a maypop, is an oval yellowish berry about the size of a hen egg. The fruit is greenand becomes yellow-green to yellow-orange as it ripens. The pulp of the fruit is gelatinous and white, but it becomes a dull yellow when ripe. The seeds are black and approximately 5 mm in size.

Miscellaneous characteristics:
N/A

Habitat:
Passiflora grows in thickets, disturbed areas, near riverbanks, and near unmowed pastures, roadsides, and railroads. Requiring full sunlight to thrive, the plant will not be fouhd in shadow, or under the forest canopy.

Parts Used:
Leaves, young shoots, fruit, roots

Culinary Uses:
Ethnobotanic: Native American tribes use purple passionflower for food, drink, and medicinal purposes. Captain Smith, in 1612, reported that Native Americans in Virginia planted the vines for the fruits. The fruits were eaten either raw or boiled to make syrup. A beverage was made from the fruits by crushing and straining the juice. Sometimes the juice was thickened by mixing it with flour or cornmeal. The young shoots and leaves were eaten, cooked with other greens.

Energetics
Taste: bitter
Thermal: Cooling
Humidity: Drying

Traditional Medicinal Uses:
Treatment of ADHD, Anxiety, Spasmodic Asthma, Chorea, Congestive Heart Failure (when used with Cratageous spp., Dysmenorrhea, Epilepsy, Inflammation, Insomnia, Nervous Dyspepsia, Nervous Tachycardia, Hypertension, Neurasthenia, Neuralgia, Opioid Withdrawls, Pain, Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), Huntington's.

Historically The roots were used in an infusion to treat boils, and to “draw out inflammation” of wounds from briers or locusts. Babies were given a tea made from the roots to aid in weaning. The roots were beaten with warm water and used as eardrops to treat earaches. Root infusions were used to treat liver problems. Soaking the crushed roots in drinking water made a “blood tonic.” The plant was also used as a sedative to treat nervous conditions and hysteria. Modern herbalism uses P. incarnata as an antispasmodic and muscle relaxant for neurogenic pain, agitation, insomnia; arterial sedative, especially in EHT in the strong, sthenic middle-aged patient. Internally as a mild sedative for nervous restlessness, insomnia and anxiety. Treatment of gastrointestinal disorders of nervous origin. Treatment of Restless Leg Syndrome. Uses described in traditional medicine As an anodyne, antispasmodic and mild stimulant.

Medicinal Actions:
Analgesic, Anodyne, Antihypertensive, Antispasmodic, Nervine, Relaxant, Sedative, Spasmolytic, Stimulant