Growing Zones
7b-11
Light
Full Sun, Part Shade
Duration
Short-lived Perennial
Size
Vining up to 25 ft
The Purple Passionflower is a vine that can grow up to 25 feet long. It either climbs with tendrils or sprawls across the ground. Its lavender flowers, which measure approximately 3 inches, are elaborately sculpted. The petals and sepals are surrounded by a fringe of wavy or crimped hairlike segments. The flower’s pistil and stamens are likewise very spectacular. Its three-lobed, deciduous leaves are dark green on top and pale underneath. The Purple Passionflower produces a huge orange-yellow berry with delicious pulp. The Maypop passion vine, like some other varieties, spreads via root suckers.
Purple passionflower is a larval host plant for several butterfly species, including the Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) and the Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia). It is also host to the Crimson Patch Longwing (Heliconius erato), and Julia Heliconian (Dryas iulia) butterflies.
Names:
Scientific Name: Passiflora incarnata
Plant Family: Passifloraceae (Passion-Flower Family)
Other Names:
- Passiflora incarnata L.
- Maypop, Purple Passionflower
- Purple Passion Vine
- Apricot Vine
Native range:
Passiflora incarnata is native to the southeastern United States, with a territory as far west as Texas and as far north as Pennsylvania.
Considerations:
This plant spreads through rhizomes located beneath the ground surface. In places with loose sand or mulch, it can spread like a wildflower, popping up some distance away from the parent plant. Its propensity to climb via tendrils might provide a challenge for other slow-growing plants.
