Passiflora aurantia
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Passiflora aurantia |
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Passiflora aurantia is one of the few plant species in the passion flower family(Passifloraceae) thatis nativeto Australia . The epithet aurantia means "orange" and stands for the color of the flowers.
distribution
Passiflora aurantia is native to eastern Australia, Fiji , Malaysia , New Guinea and several other Pacific islands such as Norfolk Island , New Caledonia and Vanuatu . There it thrives on nutrient-poor, sandy-loamy soils, over lime or on the edge of rainforests.
description
Passiflora aurantia is a climbing plant. The leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The petiole is up to 5 cm long. The three-lobed leaf blade is a maximum of 10 cm long and up to 13 cm wide (but mostly smaller).
The flower diameter is 5 to 8 (rarely up to 11) cm. The sepals are 2 to 5 cm long , the petals 1.5 to 2.5 cm long. The corona is usually single-row, sometimes double-row, with the outer row being red, the inner and shorter ones purple. The androgynophore protruding from the flower reaches a length of 2.5 to 4 cm. In contrast to most other passion flowers, the flowers of Passiflora aurantia do not open completely, so that the halo is only clearly visible from above. Also in contrast to almost all other members of the family, the flowers last not just one, but three to four days. During this time, they change color from light yellow-orange to orange-red.
The spherical to ellipsoidal fruits are about 5 cm tall and change color from green to purple as they ripen. The pulp is considered edible, but not very tasty.
Culture Notes
Passiflora aurantia can be kept as a houseplant in sun to partial shade, whereby a nutrient-poor substrate is preferred. If the nitrogen content of the soil is too high, mainly foliage is formed and hardly any flowers appear. The plants can be propagated using seeds or cuttings.
Systematics
In some cases, a distinction is made between two varieties : Passiflora aurantia var. Aurantia and Passiflora aurantia var. Pubescens , the latter having hairy stems, leaves and tendrils.
Passiflora aurantia can be crossed with the closely related species Passiflora cinnabarina and Passiflora herbertiana , which are also native to Australia .
literature
- Bettina Ulmer, Torsten Ulmer: Passionsblumen , Witten, 1997. ISBN 3-00-000684-2
