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Passiflora suberosa

Passiflora suberosa

Linneo

Family: Passifloraceae
Order: Malpighiales
Class: Magnoliopsida
Phylum / Division: Magnoliophyta
Kingdom: Plantae

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Description


Passiflora suberosa is a species of passionflower that is native to the Americas. It is commonly known as corkystem passionflower due to the corkiness of older stems. Other common names include corky passion vine, cork-bark passion flower, corkstem passionflower and corky passionfruit. In Latin America it is called Meloncillo. It is possibly also cryptic and have multiple species in one.

Leaves and stems: It is a creeping or climbing perennial liana up to 6 meters long. It has suberous stems in its lower part, glabrous to puberulent.

The leaves are simple, alternate, entire to three-lobed, with both sides glabrous, shiny green. They are 4 to 12 centimeters long when elliptical and up to 5 cm long and 7 cm wide when deeply lobed, sharp lobes, base rounded to truncated, glabrous to puberulent; petioles 0.5–4 cm long, with a pair of conspicuous and stipitate glands in upper half; linear stipules.

The plant is known for the fact that the leaves on one and the same plant vary greatly in shape and size. Another well-known phenomenon is that the lower part of the trunk becomes corky with aging.

Flowers and fruit: The melliferous flowers are solitary or in pairs, and grow in the leaf axils. Greenish or yellowish in color, they have 5 lanceolate sepals, but no petals. Flowering takes place from late summer to late winter.

The inedible fruit is not hardy and transitions from green to indigo, purple and, lastly, black as it ripens. The glabrous fruits contain a multitude of tiny seeds in a dark blue pulp, which are dispersed by birds.

(Not able to verify original reference(6). Forms .org/.edu reference this particular fruit as edible for people but may not have the best of flavor depending on ripeness.)

Range: Its range stretches from Florida and the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States south through Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean to South America. In 1909, it was introduced in Polynesia and Australia.

It is extremely prolific (up to 1000 seeds per square meter), smothering any vegetation it grows on, including trees. In New Caledonia, it is prohibited to introduce the species into the wild.

Reproduction: Many clones of the plant are self-pollinating. In winter, the plant is hardy down to temperatures around 7 °C. It can be propagated by sowing or cuttings.

This species is a host plant for the caterpillars of the Gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae), Julia heliconian (Dryas iulia), Mexican silverspot (Dione moneta), red postman (Heliconius erato), and zebra heliconian (Heliconius charithonia). It is a larval host plant for the glasswing butterfly (Acraea andromacha) in Australia.

Source: Wikipedia, article Passiflora suberosa. Content adapted from Wikipedia, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Accessed on 17/07/2026.





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Species photographs

Count: 11

Foto
Photography ID: 634620
  Adult

Diamante
Entre Ríos
Argentina
05/13/2025
Patricia Beatriz Benitez
Foto
Photography ID: 628327
♂ ♀
  Adult

Salta (Capital)
Salta
Argentina
03/26/2025
Eduardo Vicente Fumarola
Foto
Photography ID: 628326
♂ ♀
  Adult

Salta (Capital)
Salta
Argentina
03/26/2025
Eduardo Vicente Fumarola
Foto
Photography ID: 567180
  Adult

Campo Ramón
Misiones
Argentina
12/08/2015
Luis Cesar Tejo
Foto
Photography ID: 561657
♂ ♀
  Adult

Salta (Capital)
Salta
Argentina
12/26/2023
Eduardo Vicente Fumarola
Foto
Photography ID: 561656
♂ ♀
  Adult

Salta (Capital)
Salta
Argentina
12/26/2023
Eduardo Vicente Fumarola
Foto
Photography ID: 561655
♂ ♀
  Adult

Salta (Capital)
Salta
Argentina
12/26/2023
Eduardo Vicente Fumarola
Foto
Photography ID: 490203
  Adult

Santo Tomé
Santa Fe
Argentina
04/14/2018
Eduardo Beltrocco
Foto
Photography ID: 462990
  Adult

Santo Tomé
Santa Fe
Argentina
12/31/2017
Eduardo Beltrocco
Foto
Photography ID: 462981
  Adult

Santo Tomé
Santa Fe
Argentina
12/27/2017
Eduardo Beltrocco


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Species records

Count: 8



Page 1 of 1
Record IDDateExact timeCountryProvince / departmentPlaceFilmedPhotographedRecorded vocalObservedHeardWounded or deadNumber of individualsUser or BibliographyDetail
228807713/05/2025ArgentinaEntre RíosPn Pre Delta- Sendero del Espinal, DiamantePatricia Beatriz Benitez
226683426/03/2025ArgentinaSaltaCentro de la Ciudad de Salta ( Alvarado al 300))), Salta (Capital)Eduardo Vicente Fumarola
193469526/12/2023ArgentinaSaltaCentro de la Ciudad de Salta ( Alvarado al 300)), Salta (Capital)Eduardo Vicente Fumarola
158255718/04/2022ArgentinaEntre RíosReserva Natural Protegida Escuela Alberdi, Oro VerdeCristian Gabriel Hergenreder
157114414/04/2018ArgentinaSanta FeSarmiento y Centenario, Santo ToméEduardo Beltrocco
146485131/12/2017ArgentinaSanta FeSarmiento y Centenario, Santo ToméEduardo Beltrocco
146484227/12/2017ArgentinaSanta FeSarmiento y Centenario, Santo ToméEduardo Beltrocco
195767608/12/2015ArgentinaMisionesChacra Mariposa, Campo RamónLuis Cesar Tejo
Page 1 of 1

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Recommended citation
Please use the following reference when citing this species account.
EcoRegistros. 2026. Passiflora suberosa – Species account. Accessed from www.ecoregistros.org on 11/09/2026.