What is the first think you think of when someone mentions passion? Perhaps romantic love? Physical
or sexual attraction for someone, or maybe just sex? Do you think of the same
meaning of passion when the subject is the passion vine? What is the origin of
this plant’s name? Is the passion fruit an exotic aphrodisiac? Well, not
exactly but maybe if you’re in the right mood anything can work as an
aphrodisiac...
Passiflora
(Passifloraceae), the genus of the passion vine, gained this name due to the
great imagination and devotion of the Portuguese and Spanish Jesuits which
associated most morphological characters of the plant to symbols of the Passion
of Christ. While exploring the exotic tropical rainforests of South-America
they were astonished not only by the beauty and diversity of the plant (Northern-Central Brazil is an important hotspot of
diversity for these plants) but also with all the symbolism that they
immediately attributed to the plant. For the Jesuits, the flower of the passion
vine had all the symbols of the Passion of Christ, and so it was named after this passion,
not any other romantic or sensual passion that people might probably think of –
after all it is indeed an exotic and extremely sweet fruit.
Flower diversity in Passiflora sp. |
So now you are curious about the symbols, and the Jesuits
were indeed very attentive – they looked at all the flower organs finding
explanations for numbers and shapes of most of them. Let’s see…
The flower is pentamerous, with 5 sepals and 5 petals, representing the 10 faithful apostles (excluding Peter, the denier and Judas, the
betrayer); the corona represents the
crown of thorns with which roman
soldiers crowned him as the “King of the Jews”; the ovary, a chalice shaped structure, represents the Holy Grail; the 3 stigmas represent the 3 nails
used in Christ’s crucifixion and the 5
anthers the 5 wounds (1 in each
hand and foot and the last one in his chest caused by the Holy Lance). But not
only the floral structures were considered to be the symbols of the Passion of
Christ. The characteristic leaves
with pointed tips resemble the Holy
Lance that confirmed Christ’s death and the tendrils represent the whips
during the flagellation. The colours have also been attributed a meaning, since
many species are white and blue
colors, representing heaven and purity,
and we must not forget the purple,
which was also the colour of the robe
that romans covered Jesus after crowning him.
The association between the flower and symbols of the Passion of Christ |
Apart of all the symbolism involving the plant, there are
also interesting characters related with the ecology of the plant that I would
like to share with you. Every single part of it is edible, meaning that this
plant is the herbivore heaven! They can eat the leaves, tendrils, flowers and
there is plenty of nectar in the floral and extra-floral nectaries. To avoid
getting eaten by all the herbivores, Passiflora
seem to have made a deal with the ants by feeding them with nectar from
extra-floral nectaries (usually present in bracts but also in leaves). Likewise,
the ants protect their plant from herbivores and nectar robbers. Also the ants
allow true pollinators to access the floral nectaries, allowing the successful
reproduction of the plant. It sounds beautiful, but it is not as simple as it
might sound – it relates many ant species, so a lot of different behaviours
with different Passiflora species and
environments. In any case, Passiflora
and ants seem to get along very well and it seems to be a fair symbiotic
relationship.
Ants feeding on nectar from extra-floral nectaries of the bracts of Passiflora |
After attributing so many symbols to this plant, I wonder what Jesuits thought
noticing so many ants around the vines getting rid of the hungry predators,
protecting their “holy” source in exchange of precious nectar. I will let you
meditate on this, wishing you a blessed Thursday of Corpus Christi.
very nice article, didn't knew the story behind it! it's amazing how people tend to find ways to link objects and stories.. but the funiest part is that the similarities are there.. so does it mean anything or a simple coincidence?
ReplyDeleteI guess it is up to us to decide if it is just a coincidence or more than that - it is where mystery lies on. We can think scientifically or a little bit more spiritually, thinking that things do actually have that meaning for a reason, but the truth is that we will never know. Maybe the Jesuits were right, maybe they only had a great devotion and imagination - we will never know but it only depends in your beliefs.
ReplyDeleteIn any case I think destroying the mysticism around it is like killing a story which is part of History already
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I can't imagine a weirder looking bloom than the passiflora's. There's this myth among kids that if they give a girl to eat passion fruit they will fall for the giver. Then I explained my nephew the truth behind the "passion" and he was like "oh, ok." haha
ReplyDeleteAs important as all these meanings of the lotus flower is that it also stands for "non-attachment". This is symbolized by the lotus flower's peculiar characteristic to emerge from the murk and the dirt of its birth place untouched and unaffected, as clean, pure and unblemished as if it came from under crystal clear waters.Lotus flower meaning
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