How Did the Passionflower Get Its Name?

TO WHAT passion are we referring? Apparently it is not romantic passion.

The story is that back in the 16th century, Roman Catholic priests gave this plant its name. They said that some parts of the flower reminded them of the passion, or suffering, and death of Jesus Christ. Look carefully at the illustration, and you might be able to follow their explanation. They said that the flower’s five petals and five petallike sepals represented the ten faithful apostles who remained with Christ during his suffering. (They conveniently excluded Judas, the traitor, and Peter, who denied Christ three times.) They even saw Christ’s crown of thorns in the hairlike rays above the petals. The five stamens (male pollen-producing structures) represented Christ’s supposed five wounds. The three styles, which rise above the ovary, end in a buttonlike stigma, rather like a large-headed nail. They were supposed to represent the nails used in the execution of Jesus. Those priests certainly did not lack imagination!

When they discovered this beautiful flower, it was growing in what we now call Latin America. Today it is cultivated in many parts of the world, including many botanical gardens. Its diameter varies from half an inch to six inches [13 to 150 mm], and it comes in a wide variety of colors.

There are approximately 400 species of passionflowers, which normally grow in the warmer regions of the world. Some even give an edible fruit that may be slightly sour or very sweet. This fruit can be used to make juice, marmalade, and even ice cream. The giant granadilla is like a gourd and may weigh as much as seven or eight pounds [three and a half kilograms].

As you can appreciate, there is much more to a flower than meets the eye. And there are about 250,000 species of angiosperms or flowering plants! Now there’s a subject for a passionate student of floriculture.

[Diagram on page 24]

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SEPALS

RAYS

PETALS

STYLES

STAMENS