Passiflora caerulea, the blue passionflower, bluecrown passionflower or common passion flower, is a species of flowering plant native to South America. It has been introduced elsewhere. It is a vigorous, deciduous or semi-evergreen tendril vine growing to or more. Its leaves are palmate, and its fragrant flowers are blue-white with a prominent fringe of coronal filaments in bands of blue, white,yellow, and brown. The ovoid orange fruit, growing to , is edible, but is variously described as having a bland, undesirable, or insipid taste. In South America, the plant is known for its medicinal properties, and is used by both the Toba and the Maka peoples. Names The specific epithet caerulea means "blue" and refers to the blue coronal filaments. Description Passiflora caerulea is a woody vine capable of growing to high where supporting trees are available. The leaves are alternate, palmately five-lobed (sometimes three, seven, or nine lobes), and are up to in length while being linear-oblong shaped. The base of each leaf has a flagellate-twining tendril long, which twines around supporting vegetation to hold the plant up. The flower is complex, about in diameter, with the five sepals and petals similar in appearance, whitish in colour, surmounted by a corona of blue or violet filaments, then five greenish-yellow stamens and three purple stigmas. The fruit is an oval orange-yellow berry, long by in diameter, containing numerous seeds. It is edible to humans when ripe, but tends to have an undesirable flavour. Cultivation Passiflora caerulea is widely cultivated as a wall-climber or as groundcover. Though hardy down to , it requires a sheltered position facing south or west (in the Northern Hemisphere). It can become invasive, the twining shoots constantly appearing unless eradicated. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Cultivars A number of cultivars have been produced from the species: 'Chinensis' (corona filaments paler blue) 'Constance Elliott' was raised by Kucombe and Prince in Exeter, Great Britain. It has pure white, fragrant flowers; not as free-flowering as many other clones. It has also won the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. 'Pierre Pomie', a pale pink flower form Chemical constituents Compared to Passiflora incarnata, this plant contains higher amounts of the MAO-inhibitor harmine. Other uses Though the fruit is edible, it is rather insipid when eaten raw. A tea can be made of the flower or leaves; however, tetraphyllin B and