Maypops - Passion Flower, Purple passionflower, Apricot Vine, Maypop, Wild Passion Flower, Purple Pa
Passiflora incarnata
Family: Passifloraceae
What it is like
Bloom Color: Lavender, Pink, Purple. Main Bloom Time: Early summer, Early fall, Late summer, Mid summer. Form: Spreading or horizontal, Variable height, Variable spread.
Passiflora incarnata is an evergreen Climber growing to 6 m (19ft 8in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 6 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from September to November. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 6
Where it is found
Sandy thickets and open soils. Fields, roadsides, fence rows and thickets.
Eastern N. America - Virginia and Kentucky, south to Florida and Texas.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Fruit - raw or cooked in jellies, jams etc183]. A sweet flavour, it is best when used as a jelly. High in niacin. Fairly large, the fruit is up to 5cm in diameter though it contains relatively little edible pulp and a lot of seeds. Leaves - raw or cooked. Said to be delicious as a cooked vegetable or when eaten in salads. Flowers - cooked as a vegetable or made into syrup.
Medicine
Rating: 3
Maypops is a valuable sedative and tranquillising herb with a long history of use in North America. It is frequently used in the treatment of insomnia, epilepsy, hysteria etc. The leaves and stems are antispasmodic, astringent, diaphoretic, hypnotic, narcotic, sedative, vasodilator and are also used in the treatment of women's complaints. The plant is harvested after some of the berries have matured and is then dried for later use. It is used in the treatment of insomnia, nervous tension, irritability, neuralgia, irritable bowel syndrome, pre-menstrual tension and vaginal discharges. An extract of the plant depresses the motor nerves of the spinal cord, it is also slightly sedative, slightly reduces blood pressure and increases respiratory rate. The plant contains alkaloids and flavonoids that are an effective non-addictive sedative that does not cause drowsiness. The plant is not recommended for use during pregnancy. A poultice of the roots is applied to boils, cuts, earaches, inflammation etc. The dried plant is exported from America to Europe for medicinal usage. A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant. The German Commission E Monographs, a therapeutic guide to herbal medicine, approve Passiflora incarnata for nervousness & insomnia.
Antidepressant: Used to alleviate mood disorders, such as major depression and dysthymia and anxiety disorders such as social anxiety disorder.
Antispasmodic: Relaxes muscular spasms and cramps, calming nervous irritation.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Diaphoretic: Induces perspiration.
Epilepsy: Used in the treatment of Epilepsy - a disorder in which nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing seizures.
Homeopathy: A plant used in homeopathic treatments.
Hypnotic: Induces sleep.
Narcotic: Relieves pain, induces drowsiness and gives a sense of well-being.
Sedative: Gently calms, reducing nervousness, distress and irritation.
Vasodilator: Widens the blood vessels, thereby reducing blood pressure.
Women's complaints: A very vague title, it deals with a miscellany of problems peculiar to the female sex.
Other
Rating: 0
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
How it is grown
Landscape Uses:Arbor, Container, Seashore. Requires a well-drained soil with plenty of moisture in the growing season, otherwise it is not fussy. Another report says that it prefers a well-drained sandy slightly acid soil in full sun. In a well-drained soil the roots are hardy to about -20°c, although top growth is killed back by frost. The top growth is cut back almost to the ground each year by some people and the plant treated as a herbaceous perennial. The roots should be mulched in winter to prevent them from freezing. Plants thrive in a short growing season. A climbing plant, supporting itself by means of tendrils. Resistant to pests and diseases. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus. Cultivated for its edible fruit by the North American Indians. Plants yield from 5 to 20 fruits annually in the wild. Outdoor grown plants should have their roots restricted in order to encourage fruit production instead of excessive vegetative growth. Hand pollinate using pollen from a flower that has been open for 12 hours to pollinate a newly opened flower before midday. Special Features: North American native, Attracts butterflies, Attractive flowers or blooms. For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. Herbaceous. A suckering vine sending up suckers some distance main plant. The root pattern is stoloniferous rooting from creeping stems above the ground.
Propagating it: 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. 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. Leaf bud cuttings in spring. Cuttings of fully mature wood in early summer. Takes 3 months. High percentage.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; South Wall. By. West Wall. By.
Habit: Climber
Hardiness: 7-11
Growth: Fast
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
Sedation. Hypersensitivity reactions noted. Can potentiate the action of central nervous system depressants like alcohol .