Passion Flower Vine

The passion flower vine is botanically called the Passiflora incarnata, and is the plant which blooms the medically accepted passion flower. This vine is amongst one of the most popular flowering plants of the Passifloraceae family, and is well-known for its fruit, the "passion fruit".

A few of these species are native to the United States of America, and others were found in South America, Asia, and China. There are many other names given to this exotic garden vine, like Apricot vine, Maypop, Purple Passionflower, Passionsblume, and Passion Vine.

This is a perennial climbing vine which has herbaceous shoots and a woody stem. It grows up to almost 10 meters in length, and bears beautiful flowers and fruits.

The passion flower vine is a long perennial vine and has a very attractive visual appeal. Even though this vine is very widely distributed throughout different parts of the world, it is very popularly known for the most commonly used passion flowers, the Blue Passion Flower (P. Caerulea) and the Purple Passion Vine.

These flowers are very rich in their color and have distinct parts. They consist of five white petals and five colorful sepals which can vary. The corona of this flower resembles the crown of thorns that was worn by Jesus Christ at the time of crucifixion, and thus it got its name.

The fruit is known to be a slightly elongated or round and is edible. It is usually 2 to 8 inches long, but the size can vary depending on the species of the vine. The passion fruit is a purple colored fruit which usually wrinkles while ripening.

There are seeds inside it, which have medicinal properties and are popularly used in herbal medicine. Just like the flowers, the fruits are found and used in a variety of dishes to contribute to a healthy diet.

Even though the passion flower vine is a delicate climber, there are many things for which it is very effectively used for. The flowers, leaves, and stems of this vine are used for varied purposes.

The passion flower extract can be used as medication for a number of diseases. It is also used in landscaping and gardening to improve the aesthetic value of your backyard.

As a medicinal herb, it can be used in the form of passion flower tea, extracts, infusions, and tinctures. To start with the medical uses of this vine, it can be used as a herbal sedative, anxiolytic, and as a hypnotic drug (rarely used) in diseases like neuralgia, hysteria, seizures, and many physiologic disorders as a calming herb.

The vine can also be used to relieve patients suffering from hypertension and sometimes for those suffering from congestive heart failure syndrome.

The other use of this lovely vine is to use it in landscaping and decorating your garden. This is because a full-grown vine with bright purple flowers looks like a streamer on trees, fences, and other supports. The leaves and the stem of the vine are lush green in color and the fruits are rich purple, which makes the vine nature's perfect decoration.