Passiflora foetida
Passiflora mexicana
fetid passionflower, scarletfruit passionflower, stinking passionflower
Mexican passionflower
subangular, glabrous.
not pungent, glabrous;
stipules linear-subulate, 1.5–2.5 × 0.5 mm, eglandular;
petiole eglandular;
blade roughly symmetric, 1.5–7(–15) × 2.5–8(–14) cm, moderately to deeply 2-lobed, margins entire;
abaxial fine veins weakly to moderately raised, abaxial nectaries not along leaf margins, usually in 2 lines and rarely extending into leaf lobes at least on flowering stems.
floral tube absent;
sepals green, 13–17 × 4–6 mm;
petals green, 3–4 × 1 mm;
corona filament whorls 2, outer filaments red, becoming purple, linear, terete, 5–12 mm.
purple-black, globose to subellipsoid, 8–16 × 7–14 mm.
bracts linear-subulate, 1–4 × 0.5 mm, margins entire, eglandular.
Passiflora foetida
Passiflora mexicana
Varieties ca. 30 (1 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
The leaf shape of Passiflora mexicana is varies greatly within individual plants. Lateral leaf lobes are much shorter and apically rounded on slower-growing or flowering branches, but are relatively long and truncate on vigorously-growing, nonflowering branches, suckers, and young plants. A striking feature of this species is that as the flowers become less receptive to pollination the coronal filaments and limen (disc at base of the androgynophore) dramatically change color; the corona from red to purple, the limen from orange to yellow or white. The typically fetid flowers of this species may be wasp-pollinated (J. M. MacDougal and R. McVaugh 2001).
Passiflora mexicana may consist of a small complex of species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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