Passion Flower
Parts Usually Used
Plant, flower, leaves
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Passion flower is a woody, hairy, climbing vine; the stems, from 10-30 feet long, climb by means of axillary tendrils. The alternate, serrate leaves are palmately 3 to 5 lobed. Solitary, axillary, white flowers with purple, blue, or pink calyx crown bloom from May to July. The fruit is an edible, many-seeded berry (maypop) almost as large as a chicken egg.
Where Found
Grows wild in the southern United States, from Virginia and Florida westward to Missouri and Texas. Also cultivated in cooler climates; grows best in partial shade in rich, moist, well-drained soil. Native of Southern United States and the West Indies.
Medicinal Properties
Anodyne, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, hypnotic, nervine, sedative
Biochemical Information
Alkaloids including passiflorine, harmine, and harmol, and flavonic derivatives
Legends, Myths and Stories
There are more than 400 different species growing in North America and Mexico. Many of them have fruits with juicy pulp, which are eaten as fruit and yield a delicious juice that is called passion juice. The priests who accompanied the conquistadors to the New World in the 16th century considered the discovery of this beautiful flowering vine in South America to be a propitious, God-given sign that Christianity would be well received in the new land.
Passion flower got the name from supposed resemblance of parts of the flowers to Jesus’ wounds, crown of thorns, etc. They gave the plant its name, by a Jesuit priest, Padre Ferrari, because the various parts of the flower appeared to them to be symbolic of Christ’s passion: the 10 petals represent the faithful apostles, excluding the traitor Judas and also Peter for his denial; the corolla symbolizes the crown of thorns; the 5 stamens stand for the 5 wounds; the ovary suggests the hammer with which Christ was nailed to the cross; and the styles with their rounded heads provide the nails.
Because the natives relished the yellow fruit of the plant, the priests were encouraged in their mission, interpreting the eating of the fruit as symbolic of the Indians’ hunger for Christianity. Padre Ferrari served as a missionary to Mexico. The vines of the passion flower often climb to the highest treetops and sends out an abundance of radiant white and purple flowers.
Uses
Historical herbalists commonly administered passionflower for nervous complaints, including insomnia, restlessness, neuralgia, muscle cramps, and nervous headaches. Traditional practitioners also utilized the plant in efforts to lower blood pressure, alter respiration, and reduce motor activity. The edible fruit was historically regarded as a nutritive tonic and a diuretic. Additionally, Native American traditions included applying poultices made from the root to boils, cuts, earaches, and areas of inflammation.
How Sold
Tincture or capsules
Warning
Potentially harmful in large amounts. Do not take during pregnancy. May cause drowsiness in some people, care should be taken in driving or operating machinery.
Bibliography
The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Healing Plants , by Mannfried Pahlow, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. , Hauppauge, NY 11788, 1992 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.
copyright 1974. , Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 The Magic of Herbs in Daily Living , by Richard Lucas, Parker Publishing Co. (1988). The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr.
A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.
Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974