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banana passion fruit, banana passionflower, banana poka

desert passionflower

Stems

terete, densely hairy.

terete, densely woolly-hairy.

Leaves

not pungent, densely soft-hairy abaxially, sparsely hairy adaxially;

stipules subreniform, often leaflike, 4–7 × 2–3 mm, eglandular;

petiole glandular, glands emergent protuberances;

blade roughly symmetric, 5.5–16(–28) × 7–16(–29) cm, deeply 3-lobed, middle lobe as long as or longer than lateral lobes, margins serrate;

abaxial fine veins prominently raised, abaxial nectaries absent.

pungent, densely woolly-hairy, with obscurely glandular or eglandular bristles;

stipules pectinate, 2–5 × 3–8 mm, with obscurely glandular or eglandular bristles or hairs;

petiole with obscurely glandular or eglandular bristles or hairs;

blade roughly symmetric, 3–6 × 2–7 cm, deeply (3–)5–7(–9)-lobed, middle lobe longer than lateral lobes, margins entire or serrate;

abaxial fine veins weakly to moderately raised but obscured by pubescence, abaxial nectaries absent.

Flowers

floral tube elongate, 60–80 mm deep;

sepals pink, 45–60 × 12–25 mm;

petals pink, 40–54 × 15–20 mm;

corona filament whorls 1, filaments tuberculate knobs, purple basally, white apically, 1–2 mm.

floral tube cuplike, 3–5 mm deep;

sepals white, 13–23 × 5–9 mm;

petals white, 14–20 × 5–8 mm;

corona filament whorls 5–6, outer 2 whorls purple to magenta basally, white medially, pale pink apically, linear, terete, 10–17 mm.

Berries

yellow to orange-yellow, oblong to ellipsoid-fusiform, 100–140 × 35–45 mm.

green to pale yellow-green, ovoid, 2–3 × 15–25 mm.

Floral

bracts leaflike, 25–50 × 20–30 mm, margins entire, eglandular.

bracts pinnatifid, 16–28 × 14–28 mm, margins entire or dentate, with obscurely glandular or eglandular bristles or hairs.

Passiflora tarminiana

Passiflora arida

Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep(–Dec). Flowering Jul–Aug.
Habitat Pine or oak woodlands and woodland edges Deserts and desert grasslands, urban areas and disturbed sites, usually near adequate water run-off
Elevation 0–100 m (0–300 ft) 300–1200 m (1000–3900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela) [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora) [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Passiflora tarminiana is sparingly naturalized in the eastern San Francisco Bay area (F. Hrusa et al. 2002) and southward along the coast to San Luis Obispo County, in areas of minimal summer drought.

This species was recently described, and is commonly confused with Passiflora mollissima (Kunth) L. H. Bailey [now usually recognized as P. tripartita var. mollissima (Knuth) Holm-Nielsen & P. Jørgensen]. Many reports of P. mollissima in agricultural, horticultural, and weed-science literature actually apply to P. tarminiana. An attractive plant with large, edible fruits (T. Ulmer and J. M. MacDougal 2004), it is an extremely aggressive weed in Hawaii (A. M. La Rosa 1984, as P. mollissima) and other areas where it has been introduced in the Old World tropics and subtropics. The species is unlikely to become a widespread weed in the continental United States because it cannot survive frost nor occasional desiccation.

A similar, closely related species, Passiflora mixta Linnaeus f., is a rare escape in San Francisco, California; it can be distinguished from P. tarminiana by its angular young stems, persistent stipules (deciduous in P. tarminiana), and a floral tube 80–110 mm deep, 1.6–2.6 times the sepal length (1.3–1.6 times in P. tarminiana).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

In the flora area, Passiflora arida is known only from the vicinity of Tucson, where it is introduced. Although native to desert and semidesert areas, in cultivation, this species readily adapts to mesic conditions, grows aggressively, is self-pollinating, and exhibits rapid seed germination, suggesting that it could become a problematic, widespread weed (D. H. Goldman 2003). In recent years it has been distributed in the horticultural trade and among enthusiasts, misidentified as P. foetida var. arizonica. In greenhouse cultivation this plant can produce leaves less densely hairy and much larger than those described above.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 178. FNA vol. 6, p. 177.
Parent taxa Passifloraceae > Passiflora Passifloraceae > Passiflora
Sibling taxa
P. affinis, P. arida, P. arizonica, P. biflora, P. bryonioides, P. caerulea, P. ciliata, P. filipes, P. foetida, P. incarnata, P. lutea, P. mexicana, P. multiflora, P. pallens, P. pallida, P. sexflora, P. tenuiloba
P. affinis, P. arizonica, P. biflora, P. bryonioides, P. caerulea, P. ciliata, P. filipes, P. foetida, P. incarnata, P. lutea, P. mexicana, P. multiflora, P. pallens, P. pallida, P. sexflora, P. tarminiana, P. tenuiloba
Synonyms P. foetida var. arida
Name authority Coppens & V. E. Barney: Novon 11: 9, figs. 1, 3, plate 1. (2001) (Masters & Rose) Killip: J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 12: 256. (1922)
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