Purple Passionflower

Description:

I spotted this specimen growing beside a busy road in an uncultivated area.

Habitat:

One of the hardiest species of passionflower, it is a common wildflower in the southern United States. Purple passionflower is common in open or cultivated fields, rocky slopes, thin woods, roadsides, fencerows and thickets.

Notes:

Traditionally, the fresh or dried whole plant has been used as a herbal medicine to treat nervous anxiety and insomnia. A small clinical study suggested that in the form of a tea it may improve the subjective quality of sleep.The dried, ground herb is frequently used in Europe by drinking a teaspoon of it in tea. A sedative chewing gum has even been produced. In cooking, the fruit of this variety is sometimes used for jam and jellies or as a substitute for its commercially grown South American relative Passiflora edulis – the fruit is of comparable size and juice yield. The fruit can be eaten out of hand and historically it was a favorite of colonial settlers of the South and Native Americans alike.