The Botanical Magazine/Volume 1/28

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The Botanical Magazine, Volume 1
by William Curtis
28. Passiflora cœrulea. Common Passion-Flower.
412450The Botanical Magazine, Volume 1 — 28. Passiflora cœrulea. Common Passion-Flower.William Curtis


[ 28 ]

Passiflora cœrulea. Common Passion-Flower.

❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈

Class and Order.

Gynandria Hexandria.

Generic Character.

Trigyna. Cal. 5-phyllus. Petala 5. Nectarium corona. Bacca pedicellata.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

PASSIFLORA cœrulea foliis palmatis integerrimis. Lin. Syst. Vegetab. p. 823. Sp. Pl. p. 1360.
GRANADILLA polyphyllos, fructu ovato. Tourn. inst. 241.
FLOS PASSIONIS major pentaphyllus. Sloan. Jam. 104. hist. 1. p. 229.




The Passion-Flower first introduced into this country was the incarnata of Linnæus, a native of Virginia, and figured by Parkinson in his Paradisus Terrestris, who there styles it the surpassing delight of all flowers: the present species, which, from its great beauty and superior hardiness, is now by far the most common, is of more modern introduction; and, though a native of the Brazils, seldom suffers from the severity of our climate; flowering plentifully during most of the summer months, if trained to a wall with a southern aspect, and, in such situations, frequently producing ripe fruit, of the size and form of a large olive, of a pale orange colour.

This most elegant plant may be propagated by seeds, layers, or cuttings; foreign seeds are most to be depended on; they are to be sown in the spring, on a moderate hot-bed, and when the plants are grown to the height of two or three inches, they are to be carefully taken up, and each planted in a separate small pot, filled with good loam, then plunged into a moderate hot-bed, to forward their taking new root; after which they should be gradually inured to the common air: the younger the plants the more shelter they require, and if ever so old or strong, they are in danger from severe frosts. The layers and cuttings are to be treated in the common way, but seedling plants, if they can be obtained, are on many accounts to be preferred.