CORKY STEM PASSION FLOWER (Passiflora Suberosa)
Also known as "Corky Stem Passionflower", "Devil's Pumpkin" and "Indigo Berry", this is a dangerously invasive weed with the ability for fast growth. The tendrillous vine winds round the various stems and even leaves of the host plant in order to climb up to the top of the plant. It is a sun-loving plant and hence climbs up other plants in order to get exposed to maximum sunlight, often smothering the host plant in the process. It has tiny flowers which self-pollinate readily just with the wind, although they are also very attractive to butterflies & wasps. The fruit are dispersed by both birds & bats. This plant has such variable foliage that it has often been mistaken for a new species and thus the large number of synonyms noted above. This plant produces leaves that tend to change in waves as the plant grows older or taller. It has been suggested by lepidopterists that this is a defense against caterpillar attack at the early stages of the plants development, by constantly changing its leaf shape so that it is not recognizable by its predator.
This species grows wild over most of South America, Central America, the West Indies, Hawaii, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa, and two forms grow on the Galapagos Islands. It is now a very common plant found all over Singapore.
Do you know…the name of the passion fruit is derived from the flower of the Passiflora vine, which is a perennial climbing plant with many edible fruits. When Central and South America were colonized by the Spaniards, the Christian priests who came to America were struck by the unusual form of the flower of the Passiflora vine. They saw in it a symbol of Christ’s “passion” and they named it “flor passionis” or passionflower.
This species grows wild over most of South America, Central America, the West Indies, Hawaii, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa, and two forms grow on the Galapagos Islands. It is now a very common plant found all over Singapore.
Do you know…the name of the passion fruit is derived from the flower of the Passiflora vine, which is a perennial climbing plant with many edible fruits. When Central and South America were colonized by the Spaniards, the Christian priests who came to America were struck by the unusual form of the flower of the Passiflora vine. They saw in it a symbol of Christ’s “passion” and they named it “flor passionis” or passionflower.