Passion Flower
Passiflora or otherwise known as the Passion flower is a woody vine. It has been used to improve mood and sleep difficulties. The leaves of this woody vine has been for centuries used by the native people in North, Central and South America as an anxiety-easer and sedative. .
This woody perennial vine can be found growing in sandy thickets, by roadsides, fence rows, waste places and open fields. It can be easily cultivated either by root division or by seed and requires a well drained soil in full sunlight. The Passion flower has large beautiful aromatic flowers which grow very quickly and produce fruit that is edible and having medicinal uses. The flowers are beautiful, intricate purple and white that grows 2 to 3 inches across. They are sweet scented, blooming from June to August. The fruit is the size of a small hen's egg and is yellow-green when ripe. The yellow pulp is sweet and edible. The Passion flower being an exciting and beautiful plant has become very popular with gardeners in recent times. The flavor of the passion fruit has become common in tropical fruit drinks.
The passion flower is edible and has medicinal properties. The flower and fruit can be eaten raw, or cooked in jams, jellies and the young leaves eaten as a cooked vegetable or in salads. Plant researchers believed for many years, that a group of Harman alkaloids to be the active constituents in passion flower. However, recent studies point to the falconoid as the primary constituents present in the passion flower which are responsible for its relaxing and anti anxiety effects.
The plants constituents, Apigenin, Kaempferol, Luteolinand Quercetin are under study and showing promise in fighting cancer, Parkinson's disease, Leukemia and HIV. The passion flower is used as an alternative medicine for treating insomnia, irritability, nervous tension, premenstrual tension and vaginal discharges. It is also valuable in the treatment of back pain as an infusion of the plant depresses the motor nerves of the spinal cord. This infusion is sedative and also helps to reduce blood pressure slightly. It is however not safe to be used during pregnancy and breast-feeding.
The flowers have a unique flower structure requiring a large bee in order to be effectively pollinated. The various species of passiflora vary in the size and structure of the flower. While some species can be pollinated by humming bird and bumble bees, others by wasps, and still others are self pollinating.
Folklore has it that the name Passion flower refers to the passion of Christ. The 3 stamens are said to represent his wounds, while the 12 petals represent the apostles.