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| ## purple passionflower {#purple-passionflower .Title-Header}         |
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| *Passiflora incarnata* L.                                             |
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| Plant Symbol = PAIN6                                                  |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

### 

### Alternate Names

Wild passionflower, maypop, apricot vine, old field apricot,
Holy-Trinity flower, mayapple, molly-pop, passion vine, pop-apple,
granadilla, maycock, maracoc, maracock, white sarsaparilla.

### Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: The Houma, Cherokee and other Native American tribes
used 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. 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.

*Wildlife*: Purple passionflowers attract butterflies.

### Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values). Considered
rare in some states.![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.6979166666666665in"
height="2.352777777777778in"}

### Weediness

This plant may become invasive in some regions or habitats and may
displace desirable vegetation if not properly managed. Please consult
with your local NRCS Field Office, Cooperative Extension Service office,
or state natural resource or agriculture department regarding its status
and use. Weed and invasive information is also available from the PLANTS
Web site.

### Description

*General*: Passionflower Family (Passifloraceae). Purple passionflower
is a native, perennial vine. The slightly pubescent vines climb with
tendrils that arise from the axils of the leaves. The vines can range
from 2 to 6 m long. The alternate leaves (6 to 15 cm long and wide) are
palmate with 3 lobes and finely serrated margins. The spectacular
flowers are pale-lavender or, rarely, white, with five petals (3 to 4 cm
long, 4 to 7 mm wide) and five sepals (2.5 to 3.5 cm long). The complex
flower has a "crown" or corona of numerous fringelike segments that
arise from above the petals. The corona is white or lavender with purple
bands. The reproductive parts are interestingly arranged and add to the
exotic beauty of the flower. The unique appearance of the flowers was
purported, by early Spanish explorers, to represent the sufferings of
Christ (for a detailed description see Coffey 1993). The plants bloom
from June to September. Sweet-smelling, yellowish fruits develop in two
to three months after flowering and may be harvested from July to
October. The pulpy fruit, or "maypop", is large and oval, about the size
of a hen's egg (4 to 10 cm long). The fruit contains many flattened,
dark-colored seeds (4 to 6 mm long) that are covered with an arillate
pulp, which is the edible portion of the fruit.

*Distribution*: For current distribution, please consult the Plant
Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

*Habitat*: Purple passionflower is common in open or cultivated fields,
rocky slopes, thin woods, roadsides, fencerows and thickets.

### Establishment

Purple passionflowers require direct sunlight for at least half of the
day. The plants prefer fertile, well-drained soils but will grow in
heavier clay soils. Pick a spot in the garden where the plants may
either climb or spread freely. The plants may be propagated from seed or
by cuttings. Seeds should be collected in the fall after the fruit has
begun to shrivel. Mature seeds are brown in color with no traces of
white. Wash the gelatinous covering from the seeds if they are to be
stored for any length of time. It is best to plant the seeds directly
into an outdoor seedbed. The seedlings may be transplanted after they
have three or four leaves or, once established, they can be used to
provide cuttings or divisions. Cuttings should be taken in the early
spring. Remove the lower leaves from a 15 to 20 cm cutting before
placing it in the rooting medium. Removing the suckers that develop
around the established plants provides materials for propagating by
division. With a shovel, separate and remove the suckers and roots.
Transplant the divisions and water them immediately.

### Management

To control the spread of purple passionflower, remove the suckers
regularly. The vines may be trained onto a trellis, fence or tree trunk.

### Control

##### This plant is listed as a invasive by several authoritative sources listed in the Plants Profile for this species at the PLANTS website. Please contact your local agricultural extension specialist or county weed specialist to learn what works best in your area and how to use it safely. 

##### 

##### Always read the label and safety instructions for each control method. Trade names and control measures appear in this document only to provide specific information. USDA, NRCS does not guarantee or warranty the products and control methods named, and other products may be equally effective.

### Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

These plant materials are readily available from commercial sources.
Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

### References

Bailey, L.H. & E.Z. Bailey 1976. *Hortus Third: A concise dictionary of
plants cultivated in the United States and Canada*. Simon and Schuster
Macmillan Co., New York, New York. 1290 pp.

Banks, W.H. 1953. *Ethnobotany of the Cherokee Indians*. Master of
Science Thesis, University of Tennessee, Tennessee. 216 pp.

Chapman, A.W. 1883. *Flora of the Southern United States: Flowering
Plants and Ferns*. Second Edition. J. Wilson and Son, Cambridge,
Massachusetts. 698 pp.

Coffey, T. 1993. *The history & folklore of North American wildflowers.*
Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA. 356 pp.

Duncan, W. H. & L.E. Foote 1975. *Wildflowers of the Southeastern United
States.* University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia. 296 pp.

Floridata 2001. *Passiflora incarnata*. \[Online\]. Available:

<http://www.floridata.com/ref/p/passiflo.cfm>. (19 June 2001).

Garrett, J.T. & M.T. Garrett 1996. *Medicine of the Cherokee: the way of
right relationship.* Bear & Company Publishing, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
223 pp.

Greene, W.F. & H.L. Blomquist 1953. *Flowers of the South: Native and
Exotic*. University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill, North
Carolina. 208 pp.

Hamel, P.B. & M.U. Chiltoskey 1975. *Cherokee plants and their uses: A
400-year history*. Herald Publishing Company, Sylva, North Carolina. 65
pp.

Lewallen, C.S. 2001. *Oklahoma Wildflowers*. Oklahoma Biological Survey,
Norman, Oklahoma. \<http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/okwild/toc.html\>. (04
October 2001)

Moerman, D.E. 1998. *Native American ethnobotany*. Timber Press,
Portland, Oregon. 927 pp.

Moerman, D.E. 1999. *Native American Ethnobotany Database: Foods, drugs,
dyes and fibers of native North American Peoples. The University of
Michigan-Dearborn.* \[Online\]. Available:

<http://www.umd.umich.edu/cgi-bin/herb>

(19 June 2001)

Phillips, H.R. 1985. *Growing and propagating wild flowers.* University
of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 331 pp.

Small, J.K. 1933. *Manual of Southeastern flora*. University of North
Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 1554 pp.

Smith, A.I. 1979. *A guide to wildflowers of the Mid-south*. Memphis
State University Press, Memphis, Tennessee. 281 pp.

Speck, F.G. 1941. *A list of plant curatives obtained from the Houma
Indians of Louisiana*. Primitive Man Quarterly Bulletin of the Catholic
Anthropological Conference 14(4): 49-75.

### Prepared By

## *Diana L. Immel*

Formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Environmental
Horticulture Department, University of California, Davis, California

### Species Coordinator

## *M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Plant Sciences Department,
University of California, Davis, California

Edited: 04oct01 jsp; 29may03 ahv; 060802 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
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