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Passiflora<br />

Passiflora Vol. 12, No. 1<br />

More Wonderful<br />

Cultivars…<br />

Top row, left to right: P. foetida var.<br />

galapagensis; P. ‘Aurora’; P. urbaniana.<br />

Center row, left to right: P.<br />

foetida var. hirsutissima; P. ‘Pink<br />

Jewel 2’; P. ‘Sarah Aimee’. Bottom<br />

row, left to right: P. palmeri var.<br />

sublanceolata; P. foetida var. vitaceae.<br />

All photos by John Vanderplank.<br />

See article at right.

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Spring/Summer 2002<br />

Passiflora<br />

Photo Gallery<br />

More Wonderful Cultivars<br />

R. J. R. Vanderplank<br />

National Collection of Passiflora, Lampley Road, Kingston Seymour, North Somerset BS21 6XS, U. K.<br />

Within a year or so of the time a new species is first<br />

introduced into cultivation the first new hybrids start to<br />

appear. This is well demonstrated by some of the newest<br />

cultivars to appear from the foetida group of species<br />

(subgenus Dysosmia) after the very recent introduction<br />

into cultivation of P. palmeri var. sublanceolata.<br />

Maurizio Vecchia’s cultivar P. ‘Aurora’ is a cross between<br />

P. p. var. sublanceolata and an unknown variety<br />

of P. foetida, and has lovely three lobed, shiny, waxy<br />

leaves whereas the cultivar P. ‘Pink Jewel 1’, a cross<br />

between P. p. var. sublanceolata and P. foetida var.<br />

hirsutissima has thin but fleshy, broadly three lobed<br />

leaves that are covered with soft hair and are very<br />

similar to the leaves of its male parent P.foetida var.<br />

hirsutissima. Passiflora ‘Pink Jewel 2’, a hybrid of P. p.<br />

var. sublanceolata and P. urbaniana, has narrow unlobed<br />

or very shallowly three lobed thick fleshy leaves that are<br />

covered with soft hair and are also very similar to those<br />

of its male parent P. urbaniana. The flowers of all these<br />

cultivars are quite delightful and very similar, mediumsized,<br />

reflexing, pale pink or mauvish pink followed by<br />

lovely bright deep pink or scarlet fruit.<br />

Considering that all these cultivars have a common<br />

female parent, P. palmeri var. sublanceolata, it is perhaps<br />

not surprising that the flowers are very similar but<br />

it is most interesting to see the variation in the leaves of<br />

each of these cultivars, which seem to more closely<br />

follow the male parent. Perhaps one can speculate as to<br />

the identity of the male parent of P. ‘Aurora’, a red fruited<br />

P. foetida variety with thin waxy broadly three lobed<br />

leaves, perhaps P. foetida var. parvifolia or P. foetida var.<br />

hibiscifolia or P. foetida var. Maxoni. It may just be easier<br />

to ask Mauizio! The cultivar P. ‘Sarah Aimee’ is the<br />

result of the cross between P. urbaniana (female) and P.<br />

foetida var. hirsutissima (male). Again, the flowers are<br />

very similar to the flowers of P. urbaniana and the soft<br />

three lobed leaves to those of P. foetida var. hirsutissima<br />

If one accepts this hypothesis, then this may help to<br />

unravel the mysteries of the parentage of some of our<br />

more perplexing cultivars, mainly P. ‘Amethyst’ and P. x<br />

kewensis.<br />

The new cultivars of 2003 or 2004 may well include<br />

hybrids from the most recent species to be introduced<br />

into cultivation such as P. triloba, which started flowering<br />

in our greenhouses in June of this year and what a<br />

spectacular feast of large flowered new showy varieties<br />

we can expect! We have numerous fruits maturing on all<br />

the P. foetida taxa mentioned, crosses and back crosses,<br />

which should give rise to many exciting new cultivars.<br />

So if anyone would like to have a go at raising something<br />

different, I will send a mixed batch of seed to Cor<br />

Laurens our International Seed Bank manager for<br />

distribution. Have fun!