Passiflora xishuangbannaensis | The Italian Collection of Maurizio Vecchia

DESCRIPTION:

What strikes one most about Passiflora xishuangbannaensis is the bilobed shape of its leaves, adorned with elegant pale bands that follow the three main veins and some of the secondary ones. This detail gives the plant a highly refined ornamental appearance, making it one of the most beautiful Passiflora in the subgenus Decaloba.

The flowers, as in many species of the same group, are small and rather discreet. They do not exceed 3.8 centimetres in diameter and display an ivory-white corolla with reflexed petals and sepals. The main corona, bicoloured and arranged perpendicularly to the androgynophore, is brown at the base and pale yellow above, while a second corona, with shorter filaments, rises like a palisade parallel to the androgynophore.

I have never observed fruit production, and the author herself, Shawn Elizabeth Krosnick, in her original description of the species, specified that it is self-sterile, capable of producing fruit only in the presence of compatible individuals. In my greenhouse, where I have only one specimen, Passiflora xishuangbannaensis flowers almost continuously but has never produced fruit.

Shawn Elizabeth Krosnick is an American botanist specialising in plant systematics, with particular interest in Passiflora of the subgenus Decaloba, especially the Asian species. She is currently an Associate Professor of Biology at Tennessee Technological University and Director of the Paul Hollister Herbarium (HTTU).

From a cultivation standpoint, this species presents no particular difficulty. It adapts well to pot culture, grows steadily, and flowers abundantly. It would be interesting to test it in open ground in the mildest areas of Italy. The climate of Yunnan, its region of origin, is known as “the land of eternal spring”: minimum temperatures are around 2.8 °C, and maximums about 25 °C. Occasional frosts may occur, with lows down to –8 °C and occasional snowfall. All this suggests that Passiflora xishuangbannaensis could be grown outdoors in regions falling within hardiness zone 8B, with some precautions.