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Passiflora umbilicata

Common name:	Passion Flower	Family:	Passifloraceae
Author:	(Griseb.)Harms.	Botanical references:
Synonyms:	Passiflora ianthina
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western S. America - Argentina and Bolivia.
Habitat:	Grows in the mountains at elevations of 2,500 - 3,000 metres[262].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Tacsonia umbilicata[G]
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	flora = flowered umbilicata = with a navel
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Violales. Passion-flower family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen climber growing to 5m by 5m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to September, and the seeds ripen from September to November. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked. The fruit is up to 70mm long and 40mm wide[262].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a well-drained soil with plenty of moisture in the growing season, otherwise it is not fussy[1, 200]. Dislikes highly alkaline soils[202].
This species is hardy in the mildest areas of Britain[262]. Whilst top growth will be killed back in all but the mildest winters, the roots - especially if well mulched - will tolerate considerably lower temperatures and will produce new growth in early summer[262].
Very fast growing[11]. Roots of outdoor grown plants should be restricted to encourage fruiting[1]. Plants produce tendrils and climb by attaching these to other plants.
If fruit is required, especially when the plant is grown indoors, it is best to hand pollinate using pollen from a flower that has been open for 12 hours to pollinate a newly opened flower before midday[88, 200]. The flowers open in sunny weather and do not open on dull cloudy days[219]. Fruit is seldom, if ever, produced in Britain[262].
Plants are very tolerant of pruning and can be cut back to ground level if required to rejuvenate the plant[202]. Any pruning is best carried out in the spring[219].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and then sow late winter or early spring in a warm greenhouse. If sown in January and grown on fast it can flower and fruit in its first year[88]. The seed germinates in 1 - 12 months at 20° c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. It you are intending to grow the plants outdoors, it is probably best to keep them in the greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Mulch the roots well in late autumn to protect them from the cold.
Cuttings of young shoots, 15cm with a heel, in spring[1].
Leaf bud cuttings in spring.
Cuttings of fully mature wood in early summer. Takes 3 months. High percentage[3].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for the family Passifloraceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[3] Simmons. A. E. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles 1972 ISBN 0-7153-5531-7
A very readable book with information on about 100 species that can be grown in Britain (some in greenhouses) and details on how to grow and use them.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[88] RHS. The Garden. Volume 112. Royal Horticultural Society 1987
Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS. In particular, there are articles on plants that are resistant to honey fungus, oriental vegetables, Cimicifuga spp, Passiflora species and Cucurbits.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[202] Davis. B. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking. 1990 ISBN 0-670-82929-3
Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.

[219] Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983 ISBN 0-00-219220-0
A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

[262] Vanderplank. J. Passion Flowers Cassell. London. 1991 ISBN 0-304-34076-6
An excellent book on passion flowers, giving information on hardy species and how to grow the less hardy in greenhouses etc. A bit lacking at times on specific information on hardyness. Excellent photographs.

Readers Comments

Passiflora species

Rich (michael@thewitchshaven.com) Wed Oct 10 12:38:19 2001

1. Passiflora, the host plants of Heliconius butterflies contains:

a. toxic alkaloids (strychnine, caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and morphine are all alkaloids which we extract from plants for pharmaceutical, recreational and agricultural uses. Nicotine sulfate is a potent pesticide) and

b. cyanogenic glycosides (These compounds are essentially sugars attached to a CN or cyanide group . As glycosides, these compounds are non-toxic and contained in an intracellular compartment. A specific glycosidase enzyme resides in a separate compartment. When a herbivore munches on green tissues of a passion vine, the enzyme is brought into contact with the glycoside and cyanide is released.

Information from

Link: Texas University Lecture Notes

Cross references: Plants: Passiflora species. Genera: Passiflora.

Passiflora species

Rich (michael@thewitchshaven.com) Wed Oct 10 12:48:05 2001

The above comment seems to refer to the leaves and not the flowers. Anyone know more on this subject?

Cheers to Linda King (tlady@clara.co.uk) for this info

Another link is

Link: University of Texas newsletter

Cross references: Plants: Passiflora species. Genera: Passiflora.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
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