Passiflora

Passifloras are herbaceous or ligneous lianas that grapple on supports with tendrils in order to reach the light. There are about 400 species of passifloras, most of them come from tropical and subtropical America, others come from Madagascar, Asia and Oceania.

The genus’ name is due to the latin word passio meaning "to suffer", and flora "flower" this one evokes several elements of the Passion of the Christ (a crown, a hammer and nails) which stroke Spanish conquistadors’ imagination.

Our collection presents about 30 climbing and vigorous species that people can see pass by the greenhouse’s windows and lining the roof in summer.

For many visitors, the passionflower is a name that evokes exotic pictures and fruits with mysterious and aphrodisiac properties. The reality is not that far : the lianas producing these sophisticated and richly coloured flowers mainly grow in the dense forests of tropical America and their fruits have a matchless flavour.

The passion fruit is a globular or ellipsoid berry containing many seeds, rich in vitamin C. people use it to prepare refreshing beverages and desserts. More than 20 species are edible, 5 of them are cultivated for trade : the granadilla (P. edulis), the giant granadilla (P. quadrangularis), the sweet granadilla (P. ligularis), the water lemon (P. laurifolia) and the banana passion fruits (P. mollissima). The fruits are also very ornamental and give autumnal colour stains in the leaves. Some species are medicinal plants with sedative properties.