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Publication #SP 37

 

Maypop Passion Flower, Passiflora incarnata L.1

D. W. Hall, V. V. Vandiver and J. A. Ferrell2

Classification

Common Name: Maypop Passion Flower

Scientific Name: Passiflora incarnata L.

Family: Passifloraceae, Passion Flower Family

Seedling

The stem is smooth (Figure1). The first leaves while sometimes not as lobed as the later leaves have two characteristic glands at the base of the blade on the petiole.

Figure 1. 

Seedling, Maypop Passion Flower, Passiflora incarnata L.


[Click thumbnail to enlarge.]

Mature Plant

Maypop Passion Flower is a perennial (Figure 1). The stems are smooth or have small hairs. The growth pattern is erect, creeping or climbing. The leaf blades are palmately 3-lobed (rarely 5-lobed) and 6-15 cm long. The leaves have leaf-like stipules and conspicuous glands on the petioles. The flowers are axillary and solitary. The flower stalks are 5-10 cm long and terminate with a whorl of three-toothed modified leaves, 3-6 mm long. The five sepals are usually green, or sometimes light lavender to white. The sepals are 2.5-3.5 cm long. The five petals are bluish white and 3 to 4 cm long. The fruit is a green, fleshy, egg-shaped berry, turning yellowish green. The seeds are dark brown and 4-6 mm long.

Figure 2. 

Mature plant, Maypop Passion Flower, Passiflora incarnata L.


[Click thumbnail to enlarge.]

History

Passiflora is derived from Latin and means passion and flower. The Latin species name incarnata means flesh colored and alludes to part of the flower.

Habitat

This weed is found throughout Florida on dry soils, especially along roadsides and in citrus groves and old fields. Its native range extends westward to Texas, eastward to Virginia and northward to Missouri. It was introduced further north from its previous southern range. It is also found in Bermuda.

Biology

Reproduction is by seeds and root shoots. Cultivation may break apart and move root shoots to new areas. The edible fruit is called a Maypop.

Footnotes

1.

This document is SP 37, one of a series of the Agronomy Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date May 1991. Revised February 2006. Reviewed January 2012. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

David W. Hall, former extension botanist, Herbarium, Florida Museum of Natural History; Vernon V. Vandiver, associate professor emeritus, Agronomy Department; Jason A. Ferrell, assistant professor, Agronomy Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.