Phil Bendle Collection:Passiflora caerulea (Blue passion flower)

Kingdom: Plantae
(Unranked): Angiosperms
(Unranked): Eudicots
(Unranked): Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Passifloraceae
Genus: Passiflora
Species: P. caerulea
Binomial name: Passiflora caerulea
Common names: Blue passion flower, Common passion flower.

Passiflora caerulea is a woody vine native to South America (Argentina. It is a vigorous evergreen high-climbing vine capable of growing to 15–20 m high where supporting trees are available.
The leaves are alternate, palmately five-lobed like a spread hand (sometimes three or seven lobes), 10–18 cm long and wide. The base of each leaf has a flagellate-twining tendril 5–10 cm long, which twines around supporting vegetation to hold the plant up.
The hanging whitish-purple flowers are complex, about 10 cm in diameter, with the five sepals and petals similar in appearance, whitish in colour, surmounted by a corona of blue or violet filaments, then five greenish-yellow stamens and three purple stigmas. Flowers are produced from December to April.
The fruit ripens from green to an oval orange-yellow berry 6 cm long by 4 cm in diameter, containing numerous silver-brown seeds (4 mm long). The seeds spread by mammals and birds.
This plant smothers the canopy, can strangle host stems and prevents the establishment of native plant seedlings. It appears in light wells away from the parent plant. If found contact your regional council to determine the status of this species and responsibility for control and/or advice on control.

Toxicity: Unripe fruit can contain poisonous cyanogenic glycosides and should not be eaten. Only the bright orange ripe fruit may be eaten. The Royal Horticultural Society web site states ingestion may cause severe discomfort.

Passiflora caerulea climbing up eucalyptus trees.

Developing fruit. Changing from green to yellow
  

Ripe orange fruit

Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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