Passiflora Species, New Zealand Passion Vine, Kohia

This New Zealand native passionfruit vine is an endemic species which is dioecious - meaning that male and female perfumed flowers occur ...Read Moreon separate plants. This is a common characteristic of native plants, and is a major point of distinction between our flora and those from the rest of the world. The white or pale yellow flowers are followed by small orange fruit which are inedible to humans, but sort after by possum and rats. The name 'passion flower' does not have romantic connotations, but is rather derived from the passion (suffering) of Christ. Early Spanish missionaries related the floral and vegetative parts of the plant to a range of objects and people associated with Christ's crucifixion such as the tendrils, which represent the whips used to flagellate Christ.