Photo Essay Photo Essay

Photographer: John Vanderplank

Economic: Cultivated Passionflowers

Passionflowers have been cultivated by Westerners since 1609, when Passiflora incarnata was grown in Bologna. Many cultivars, sports, and hybrids have been produced, nearly all in the large-flowered subgenus Passiflora. The smaller-flowered species are grown mainly for their curious foliage. This is the wild Passiflora allantophylla, subgenus Decaloba, on P. caerulea 'Constance Eliott', an old English cultivar.