Alternate name: Purple Passionflower, Maypop, Apricot-vine
Family: Passifloraceae, Passionflower view all from this family
Description A climbing or trailing vine with large, strikingly fringed flowers.
Flowers: 1 1/2-2 1/2" (3.8-6.3 cm) wide; 5 outer sepals and 5 petals form a whitish or bluish, wheel-like backdrop, upon which rests a fringe of 2-3 circles of purple and pinkish, thread-like segments; stamens 5, drooping, suspended around 3-styled pistil.
Leaves: 3-5" (7.5-12.5 cm) wide, palmately 3-lobed; 2 conspicuous glands on petiole near blade; tendrils present.
Fruit: yellow berry, 2-3" (5-7.5 cm) long.
Flower June-September.
Habitat Sandy thickets, open areas.
Range Southwestern Pennsylvania to Maryland; south to Florida; west to Texas; north to Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.
Discussion This unusual flower is widely distributed in the South, especially from Florida to Texas. The name relates to the resemblance of the floral parts to aspects of the crucifixion story. The 10 petal-like parts represent the disciples, excluding Peter and Judas; the 5 stamens the wounds Jesus received; the knob-like stigmas the nails; the fringe the crown of thorns. Yellow Passion Flower (P. lutea), a small yellow-flowered species, occurs from southeast Pennsylvania to Florida, west to Louisiana, and north to Missouri, Illinois, and West Virginia.
