Passiflora retipetala | The Italian Collection of Maurizio Vecchia

Passiflora retipetala, information, classification, temperatures. etymology of Passiflora retipetala. Discover the Italian Passiflora Collection by Maurizio Vecchia.

Passiflora retipetala | The Italian Collection of Maurizio Vecchia

Systematics (J. Macdougal et al., 2004)

SUBGENUS: passiflora
SUPERSECTION: stipulata
SECTION: gradalillastrum


GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OR ORIGIN:

English Guiana and northern Brazil.


MINIMUM TEMPERATURE: 10 °C


IDEAL MINIMUM TEMPERATURE: 12 °C


SYNONYMS:

 P. lonchophora Harms.


ETYMOLOGY:

Maybe for the reclined petals or for the presence of nets on the petals (Lat. reticulatus, shaped like a small net). 


PHOTOGALLERY:


DESCRIPTION:

The flowers of this passionflower offer a strong, attractive contrast between a very pure white and an equally intense blue-violet. These two colours are the distinctive feature of the large corona of filaments and also the reason why it is sought after and valued.

The region of origin is in northern Brazil and neighbouring Guyana.

It is a glabrous liana in its entirety, with trilobate leaves with open sinuses, green in colour with a glaucous shade, up to 10 cm long and up to about 7 cm wide. The petiole bears a dense series of small glands arranged in 3-4 asymmetrical pairs.

The flowers, with a diameter of about 6-7 cm, have slightly retroflexed white sepals and petals. In this way, the large white and blue-violet main corona stands out. The other innermost coronas, with short filaments, are instead white.

The ellipsoidal fruits are about 6-7 cm long and have a diameter of 4-5 cm.

It is an easy to grow plant and will bloom even when small in size, especially if obtained from a cutting. It requires rich multipurpose potting soil with good drainage to avoid water stagnation and consequent root rot, to which it is susceptible.

It has no resistance to cold, so it is not possible to grow outdoors except in the summer. The ideal winter temperature is in fact around 12°C.

Given the beauty of its flowers and generous flowering, as well as its adaptability to life indoors or in a greenhouse, it is nonetheless a plant to be valued.

It reproduces easily, even from seed.