Passiflora edmundoi pink form | The Italian Collection of Maurizio Vecchia

DESCRIPTION:

Passiflora edmundoi is native to Brazil, where it grows mainly in the state of Bahia. It was virtually unknown in Europe until the early 2000s. It entered my collection in 2004 and has been a constant presence ever since, still capable of exciting me every time it blooms. 
I still remember the first flower: I was away from home, the bud was about to open but I couldn’t witness the flowering. I asked my wife to photograph it for me. When I returned, the plant was still in bloom, and soon afterward I began using it in my hybridizations. 
The first hybrid I obtained using pollen from Passiflora caerulea ‘Constance Eliott’. Some fellow collectors questioned the authenticity of the result, and I had to show them a comparison between the leaves of Passiflora caerulea, Passiflora edmundoi, and the new hybrid, where the differences were evident. That was the birth of Passiflora ‘La Venexiana’, which opened its first flower in 2007. Later, I produced several other hybrids with Passiflora caerulea, all dedicated to Venice: Passiflora ‘La Serenissima’, Passiflora ‘San Marco’, Passiflora ‘La Fenice’, Passiflora ‘Murano’, and others. Several hybrids also had Passiflora ‘Fata Confetto’ as the mother plant. 
The species shows various forms, distinguished by flower color: some have red corollas, others deep pink. I have also seen photos of white-flowered forms shared by a Brazilian correspondent. 
In cultivation it is generous and almost always in bloom, even during the cold nights of October. It’s one of those plants I’ve never been without: it germinates easily and reaches flowering quickly. 
Its placement in Section Kermesinae of Supersection Stipulata is evident from the structure of the corolla, characterized by long, slender sepals and petals that curve backward elegantly, and by a small central corona with contrasting, sometimes complementary, colors. The long peduncle is also striking, bearing pink bracts that are spaced from the calyx and from one another. 
It was first described in 1966 by the botanist José da Costa Sacco (1930–2023), who dedicated it to his Brazilian colleague Edmundo Pereira (1914–1986), the collector of the first specimen. 
One of the peculiarities of the species is the rounded shape of the leaf-lobe tips. The leaves, trilobed and robust, are green with reddish hues, more intense on the underside. 
Cultivation is simple, as this Passiflora is adaptable, vigorous, and fast-growing. The only precautions are to avoid overwatering and to protect it from red spider mites, which are always a threat in winter shelters. Its cold tolerance is limited: temperatures should not fall below 10 °C, except for very short periods. 
In mild climates it can be planted outdoors, where it becomes spectacular. I once saw a specimen in Toulon that had climbed all the way to the roof of a house. 
Besides from seed, it can easily be multiplied by cuttings, as rooting is quick and reliable.