Passiflora caerulea

[Drip Curl Magic]

I recently discovered a Blue Passion flower(Passiflora caerulea) vine in my new backyard.

 

I saw the flowers. Thought they looked amazing. And had to find out what they were. I was also curious about the orange fruit things that seem to trail behind the flowers.

 

I did a little research online and was able to identify the species.

 

I compared notes from a couple different websites.

 

One website says that the Passiflora caerulea's fruit is edible. And that the flower can be used in tea for a mild sedative effect.

 

But another website mentions nothing of the edibility of the fruit.... but highly cautions people to stay away from the flower. It said there was a chance of the flower being highly toxic... but was vague as to the reasons why.

 

by any chance, does anyone have any first hand experience with this specific plant?

 

Is the fruit edible?

 

Is the flower really toxic?

if so- why?

if not- can I use it in tea?

[Ganoderma]

they can be eaten (they sold them in the grocery stores where i used to live in canada). i think it is sort of along the lines of durians in that they can make some people sick. i would do a chemical search to be sure though.

[learnin to learn]

hmmm sounds interesting!!

[Mercedes Benzene]

Weird.... I've never heard of those.

[InfiniteNow]

How funny... my girlfriend is making a few clippings of these for my new house. I have a great bay window in the kitche, but it simply looks on to my neighbor's place. So I'm going to add some sort of thatch work to the top of my fence and see if we can get these beautiful little alien looking plants to climb it. :lol:

 

http://www.passionflow.co.uk/

[Mercedes Benzene]

What type of climate does it prefer?

[InfiniteNow]

From the site above:

 

Put your plants in close to a wall or fence if possible, in beds that are South facing, dry, & well drained. They like a sheltered location without too much wind. The combination of cold winds from the North or East and frosts over winter can cause severe damage. Add sharp sand if necessary to improve drainage & help plants establish roots. All Passiflora hate having wet cold roots. Train them up a diamond shaped wooden trellis or similar. Generally all Passiflora love sun but some Tacsonias can overheat. If you grow them in pots they will do best in clay pots with broken bits of pot & sharp sand at the foot of the soil. The reason is that the clay surface is always negatively charged & the plants can pick up the positive ions easily off the clay surface.

 

Some Passiflora don't like too much heat either and can struggle in places like Texas and Spain. Young ones always find their first winter hard. Growing tips gives more detail on how to protect plants in beds over winter. Some plants can regrow from the roots. The more vulnerable plants should be grown in say 10" pots with a bamboo tripod & brought indoors at the beginning of winter & kept fairly dry, with the emphasis on good light levels & good air circulation rather than on heating the air. Supplementary Lighting is very helpful for some but not essential. If you think you might lose a plant in a bed outside over winter, take cuttings of it in summer to grow indoors over winter.

 

I'm in Texas, and have a black thumb, so this may be tough!! :lol:

[Michaelangelica]

I recently discovered a Blue Passion flower(Passiflora caerulea) vine in my new backyard.

 

One website says that the Passiflora caerulea's fruit is edible. And that the flower can be used in tea for a mild sedative effect.

 

Is the fruit edible?

 

Is the flower really toxic?

if so- why?

if not- can I use it in tea?

I'm confused. The flower looks like black passionfruit "edulis" Which is very popular in Australia (It is often used in deserts and it is always a great diversion to watch Americans try to pick all the seeds out before eating a passionfuit desert. Australians love that).:lol:

 

One variety of passionfruit is grown for the flowers that induce sleep. It is is used to make a calming tea I'm sorry I don't remember its botanical name (I can find it if you are keen)

 

I have never heard of a poisonous passionfruit. But the article reference below might give one pause. The word "poisonous " is used far too easily around many plants. There are very few that will kill you. (Look up the suicide web pages to see how few). Then you have to be determined, keen,have no taste buds and be prepared to eat heaps of it and upchuck for hours before dying

 

From Aust web sources:

Blue Passion Flower. Brazil, Argentina. Summer-Autumn. 900cm. Vigorous evergreen-semi evergreen climber. Faintly fragrant white and blue purple flowers.Frost Hardy (-5C)Flowers 6-8 cm diam., greenish white, corona bluish or purplish. Berry subglobose, ca 6 cm long, yellow to orange.

 

Photo:

http://www.gardencomposer.com.au/showlarge-g.html?n259110b.jpg

 

Seeds here:

http://www.palmplantations.com.au/other/ornamentals.htm

 

Zacchino, S., G. Rodriguez, et al. (1997). Preliminary toxicological study in rats of Passiflora caerulea extracts. Fitoterapia 68(3): 265-271. {a} Area Farmacognosia, Facultad de Ciencias, Bioquimicas y Farmaceuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Suipacha 531-C.P. 2000, Rosario, Argentina

[UncleAl]

Passion flower contains harmine alkaloids. The fruit's pulp is fairly harmless, the sap is not. Aside from being powerful hallucinogens at modest doses harmine alkaloids are also powerful monamine oxidase inhibitors. Eat some red wine, aged cheese, pickled herring... get high, stroke out.

 

http://www.phytochemicals.info/plants/passion-fruit.php

[Michaelangelica]

 

http://www.phytochemicals.info/plants/passion-fruit.php

Nice link, thanks.

I checked Duke's database but I think some naughty plants may have been deleted.

Passiflora edulis is not the variety herbalists use for sleep-inducing. It may be INCARNATA (?)

Checked and found-

http://www.ann.com.au/herbs/Monographs/passiflora.htm

Yes it is.

 

Insomnia:

The sedative effect of Passion flower has made it popular for treating a variety of ailments, including nervousness and insomnia.

Research had indicated that passion flower has a complex activity on the central nervous system (CNS), which is responsible for its overall tranquilizing effects.

Also, it apparently has an antispasmodic effect on smooth muscles within the body, including the digestive system, promoting digestion.

http://www.passionflower.org/

[grindcoreduder]

I recently discovered a Blue Passion flower(Passiflora caerulea) vine in my new backyard.

 

I saw the flowers. Thought they looked amazing. And had to find out what they were. I was also curious about the orange fruit things that seem to trail behind the flowers.

 

I did a little research online and was able to identify the species.

 

I compared notes from a couple different websites.

 

One website says that the Passiflora caerulea's fruit is edible. And that the flower can be used in tea for a mild sedative effect.

 

But another website mentions nothing of the edibility of the fruit.... but highly cautions people to stay away from the flower. It said there was a chance of the flower being highly toxic... but was vague as to the reasons why.

 

by any chance, does anyone have any first hand experience with this specific plant?

 

Is the fruit edible?

 

Is the flower really toxic?

if so- why?

if not- can I use it in tea?

 

I read somewhere the fruit are edible & you can make the flowers into a tea to relieve anxiety & help with sleep, but the leaves have traces of cyanide. I have planted passiflora caerula as a house plant and am curious to how the leave are toxic but the rest of it is not. I want to try the tea! haha