Passiflora incarnata #1 (Passion Vine / Maypop)

Passion Vine, also named Maypop because of the sound made when crushing the fruits, is a native, tendril-climbing vine. It is an herbaceous perennial, dying to the ground every winter and late to emerge in the spring. The plant spreads rapidly by root suckers, making it rather aggressive in small gardens and best grown on a trellis or fence and given plenty of room to roam.

The flowers are lilac to purple, sometimes even white, and their shape is enchantingly complex and very tropical looking. Flowering occurs from early June to July and sometimes later. They mature into green, hollow, egg-sized and egg-shaped berries which turn bright yellow in the fall. The pulp is edible and fragrant. The plant has also been used medicinally, and the leaves can be used to make a tea with a calming, gentle, sedative effect.

Variegated Fritillary, Banded Hairstreak, and the Red-banded Hairstreak are some of the Lepidopterans that host on Passion Vine.

Sources:
Growing and Propagating Wild Flowers by Harry R. Phillips
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants and Herbs by Steven Foster and James A. Duke
Peterson Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants Eastern/Central North America by Lee Allen Peterson
Missouri Botanical Garden
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Mt Cuba Center

Photo Credits:
Flower Detail: English: NPS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Leaves and Fruit: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Growing on Fence: Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons