Passiflora incarnata, the purple passion flower, is a bloom on the passion vine. My wife received the vine as a gift, and it has flourished on our fence lattice. I have taken pictures of the strangely beautiful flower after full bloom but never attempted to capture the actual bloom on a time-lapse. I have been experimenting with the S&Q function on my Sony A6600 camera and decided to try it out on the blooming flowers.
According to Bob Thomas of Loyola University in New Orleans, the passion flower has Christian lore that has long been associated with the last days of Jesus Christ. That is where it got its name “the Passion Flower”. According to Thomas, “The five blue sepals and five similarly colored petals, together represent 10 of the 12 apostles, except Peter and Judas who distance themselves from Jesus before the crucifixion. Two rings of thin filaments, representing the thorns on the crown, encircle the reproductive organs. The wounds on Christ’s body are depicted by the five pollen-bearing stamens, and the three stigmas (the part of the pistil, or female anatomy of the flower, that receives the pollen) representing the nails in the cross. The tri-lobed leaves symbolize the spear that entered his flesh, and the tendrils that help the vines climb by growing rapidly and wrapping around branches portray the leather strips that cut his flesh.”
Passion flower vines also attract fritillary butterflies which lay their eggs on the vines. The ants you see on the flowers are attracted to a nutritious nectar produced by the extrafloral nectaries at the base of each leaf. In return for the healthful liquid, the ants protect the leaves from predators including fritillary caterpillars. These caterpillars can consume the vine at a fast pace until they form a chrysalis.
What an amazing cycle of life God has provided us to witness in the relationship of these three species. I am amazed at what I learn when I take some time to slow down and look around at the amazing things God has created. Revelation 4:11
I hope you enjoy the video. God bless you!
Tim Lumpkin
Legacy-outdoors.net
Instagram: @tlump10
Legacy Outdoors 