“Did you know there are hundreds of varieties of passionflowers?”
我以为我在跟我丈夫说话，但当我研究眼前的颜色时，他已经走到育儿室的另一个地方去了。环顾四周，我发现自己一直在自言自语，别人都在警惕地看着我。我能说什么呢?我只是一个充满激情的园丁，对着花说话。
I had to smile. Why not enjoy the moment? And the colors in the display of Passionflowers. I had never grown them before, but I was always game to try something new, and the purple passionflowers that dominated the trays were delightful.
I had come to the nursery with the purpose of finding this flower. I didn’t need anything else for my garden. After reading about the purple passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) and listening to one of my gardening friends rave about the beautiful, purple flower — not to mention the medicinal benefits this plant offered — I knew it was a must-have for my garden. And, despite my husband’s attempts to dissuade me, I had a spot picked out, and the plot was ready for my purple passionflower garden.
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I have to admit, part of the attraction to this flower was the name. I always assumed its name, ‘passion’ flower, had a romantic attachment. Indeed, I felt passionate about the plant. But my research revealed otherwise. The name passionflower had its roots in Christianity andthe Passion of Christ.
传教士给它起名叫西番莲，因为它有三个雄蕊，他们把它们与基督的三个伤口联系在一起，它的12片花瓣代表了12个使徒。他们还认为这种植物的冠象征着基督的荆棘冠。我发现背景很有趣，尽管我个人对这朵花仍有一种激情。
I finally found the purple passionflower tucked in the back corner of the nursery. There was only one.
“它会占领你的花园。”一个女人的声音从后面传来。我转过身来，看见一个保姆在附近浇水。她一定是看到我兴致勃勃地研究这种植物了。
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I smiled at her. “I know. I hope it does. At least, in the garden where I intend to plant it.”
“It’s really a vine,” she added. “It’ll grow to about 20 feet. I hope you have something it can climb like you would with a clematis.”
“I do.” I hoped my rock wall would suffice, but I was beginning to wonder.
“It is a beautiful flower,” the woman agreed. “And it has many uses other than ornamental.”
“Really?” I was surprised. I’d have to do more research after I got it home and planted. I picked up the pot and walked purposefully towards the cash register. My husband appeared as I was about to pay. He was shaking his head but knew better than to comment.
“Whatever you do in the garden is wonderful,” he muttered (the words he often used when giving in to my ideas). We had a piece of country paradise; a perfect location to expand our dream gardens. And that’s what I was doing, one plant at a time.
My purple passionflower did grow fast and tall. The 3-inch wide flowers — some of which were accented with a purple fringe — had a wonderful fragrance that reminded me of carnations.
The fruit, when it appeared, was elongated, about 2 to 8 inches long and 2 inches across. It looked something like a yellow plum, and I quickly learned that although the fruit was edible, it tasted best when allowed to fall from the vine. Then, it tasted like guava. Well, sort of.
The leaves were really large at 5 to 6 inches long with serrated edges. They provided a rich green canopy for the flower blooms that appeared where the leaf stem attached to the vine. I quickly learned that my rock wall wasn’t sufficient, and my husband was enlisted to construct a sturdy trellis.
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Butterflies and bees flocked to my passionflower, enjoying the flower’s sweet nectar. Unfortunately, so did the caterpillars and aphids. I rigorously sprayed the vines with insecticidal soap at first sight of the invading, destructive insects.
My passionflower thrived in the place I had chosen for it. The soil was a fertile mixture with a base of sand giving it sufficient drainage. There was lots of direct sunlight, and I made sure the plant was well watered.
除了果实，西番莲还有其他的食用和药用价值。最好的收获季节当然是秋天。把叶子从植物上剥下来，让它们彻底干透，就像对待草本植物一样。你甚至可以吃假种皮，也就是种子外面的胶状覆盖物。
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The medicinal benefits of passionflower haven’t been fully researched and explored. Until the late 1970s,passionflower was a component of over-the-counter sleep drugs. In fact, it has been proven to bebeneficial in treating insomnia. It is also believed to benefit gastrointestinal issues, anxiety or nervousness, seizures, asthma, menopausal symptoms, fibromyalgia, and general pain reliefamong other benefits.
Although the side effects have not been thoroughly researched,it is believed to be safeto use orally in small doses. However, it’s not recommended for consumption over long periods of time because it does contain some potentially toxic substances that are unsafe in large doses.
像任何其他草药疗法一样，在使用西番莲叶(或植物的其他部分)药用之前，最好彻底研究并咨询专业人士。
For me, I’m happy to enjoy the flowers and the occasional fruit that drops from the vine. Passionflowers are a lovely addition to any garden oasis.
For Emily Jane Hills-Orford, Purple passionflower, Passiflora incarnata is the host plant for 2 different native butterflies, Zebra longwing and Gulf fritillary. They lay their eggs on the host plant. They hatch into caterpillars that eat a little of the plant. Then they metamorphasize into butterflies. If you are killing the caterpillars you are defeating the purpose of this plant. It’s evolved with these butterflies to be their sole source of larval food. Not to be pretty for you. That is secondary. Spraying the caterpillars with insecticide! This is actual misinformation. It is so sad to read this. Please don’t kill butterflies. If you really don’t know anything at all about a topic, it would be best if you stick to writing about topics you are an actual expert at, for the greater good. Thank you for your time.
Thank you for your comment. You made some valid points and it’s interesting to learn about the butterflies and, as always, we learn from others sharing their expertise.