Passiflora caerulea
Passiflora affinis
blue passion flower, bluecrown passionflower
bract passionflower
angular when young, glabrous.
terete, glabrous, minutely puberulent to scabrous when young.
weakly pungent, glabrous;
stipules subreniform, 10–20 × 5–10 mm, glandular-serrate;
petiole glandular, glands clavate;
blade roughly symmetric, 3–10(–16) × 4–11(–14) cm, deeply (3–)5–7(–9)-lobed, middle lobe as long as or longer than lateral lobes, margins entire but often serrate basally on lobes;
abaxial fine veins prominently raised, abaxial nectaries scattered along margins.
not pungent, glabrous or minutely puberulent;
stipules linear-setaceous, 1–2 × 0.5 mm, eglandular;
petiole eglandular;
blade roughly symmetric, 1–8(–10) × 1.5–10 (–14) cm, shallowly to deeply 3(–5)-lobed, middle lobe as long as or longer than lateral lobes, margins entire;
abaxial fine veins weakly to moderately raised, abaxial nectaries circular, usually in 2 short lines or also scattered near leaf margins.
floral tube cuplike, 4–5 mm deep;
sepals white, 20–35 × 10–15 mm;
petals white, 20–40 × 10–15 mm;
corona filament whorls 4, outer filaments dark purple basally, white medially, purple apically (rarely entirely white), linear, terete to slightly flattened, 10–20 mm.
floral tube absent;
sepals pale green to white, 10–16 × 2–4 mm;
petals pale green to white, 6–13 × 1–2 mm;
corona filament whorls 2, outer filaments purple basally, white medially, green apically, linear-filiform, terete, apically clavate, 9–18 mm.
yellow-orange to orange, ovoid to ellipsoid, 30–50 × 30–35 mm.
purple-black, globose to ovoid, 10–15 × 10 mm.
bracts ovate to ovate-oblong, 15–25 × 10–15 mm, margins entire or weakly serrate, eglandular.
bracts linear-subulate, 1–3 × 0.5 mm, margins entire, eglandular.
= 18.
Passiflora caerulea
Passiflora affinis
Passiflora caerulea is cultivated widely in the flora area but naturalized only in the Los Angeles metropolitan area (see F. Hrusa et al. 2002). It is possibly introduced in the Mule Mountains of southeastern Arizona (J. Koweek, pers. comm.), although this has not been confirmed. It was reported also from Utah by S. L. Welsh et al. (2003), although as “cultivated...long-persisting,” suggesting that it is not actually naturalized there. This species is cold-hardy and can be cultivated in gardens in relatively cold regions (at least USDA plant hardiness zone 6), but it is unlikely to flower in such areas because of relatively short growing seasons, although it still makes an interesting foliage plant. Even in the absence of sexual reproduction, this species can persist and even spread locally by root suckering.
The artificial hybrid Passiflora ×belotii will key to P. caerulea in this treatment. However, the leaves of P. ×belotii are consistently three-lobed, unlike the primarily five- to seven-lobed leaves of P. caerulea.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Passiflora affinis is similar to P. lutea in leaf shape and flower appearance. However, P. affinis has nectaries on the abaxial surface of the leaves, which are absent in P. lutea. Passiflora affinis also has floral bracts, and flowers greater than 25 mm in diameter with clavate to capitate, sinuous outer corona filaments more than 10 mm long. Passiflora lutea lacks floral bracts and has flowers less than 25 mm in diameter with apically unornamented, typically straight outer corona filaments that are usually less than 10 mm long.
In the flora area Passiflora affinis is restricted to central Texas, where its leaves are often appropriately shaped like cowboy hats. E. P. Killip (1938) erroneously suggested that it is native to New Mexico, based upon the misinterpretation of herbarium label data (D. H. Goldman 2004).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
