passionflower

[ pash-uhn-flou-er ]

noun

1. any chiefly American climbing vine or shrub of the genus Passiflora, having showy flowers and a pulpy berry or fruit that in some species is edible.

passionflower

/ ˈpæʃənˌflaʊə /

noun

1. See granadilla
   any passifloraceous plant of the tropical American genus Passiflora, cultivated for their red, yellow, greenish, or purple showy flowers: some species have edible fruit See also granadilla

Word History and Origins

Origin of passionflower¹

1605–15; translation of New Latin flōs passiōnis flower of the Passion; so named because the parts of the flower were imagined as symbolic of the objects and events of Christ's Passion

Word History and Origins

Origin of passionflower¹

C17: so called from the alleged resemblance between parts of the flower and the instruments of Christ's crucifixion

Example Sentences

She has trailed the passionflower wi' her ain hands until it is nourishing.

From Project Gutenberg