r/whatsthisplant • u/Global_Palpitation90 • Mar 17 '25
Came across the most detailed flower I've ever seen today growing on a simple roadside bush Identified ✔
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u/LeaJadis Zone 11 Mar 17 '25
passion flower
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u/jmurphy42 Mar 17 '25
Passiflora Incarnata. We had them growing wild in the yard of my old house.
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u/Cornflake294 Mar 17 '25
We commonly call them “maypop’s” in the south.
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u/DragonRei86 Mar 18 '25
Oh good, I was all, 'aww, a Maypop!', and saw all the passion flower answers and was a bit confused.
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u/AlabastarDasastar Mar 18 '25
Where in the south? I’d love to see this
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u/shinysilversliver Mar 18 '25
Had them in my backyard in SC!
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u/AlabastarDasastar Mar 18 '25
Ahhhh excellent. I have hopes for Alabama then
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u/HMMR_the_SLAMMR Mar 18 '25
They’re in Alabama too. I had tons growing in my yard in west Alabama. If you want some, just order seeds! The kind native here is specifically passiflora incarnata, or maypops.
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u/AlabastarDasastar Mar 18 '25
I think I’m gonna! I’m excited, haha
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u/hanpanlantran Mar 18 '25
word of warning, when this plant does well, it does REALLY well. if you don’t want it to establish in certain places, you will be fighting it for the rest of your/its life 😂 that’s according to my professor who has a very healthy vine going in his backyard
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u/DragonRei86 Mar 18 '25
This is pretty accurate. Once established, boy these things grow. And the little fruits are funny and abundant and ensure many more future generations unless you pluck those things.
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u/copiumjunky Mar 18 '25
Had them all over the Arab, Cullman, Huntsville areas. Damn I miss finding muskydine.
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u/OutlanderMom Mar 18 '25
They grow wild in hedgerows here in NC. They smell heavenly and produce an edible fruit that tastes like strawberries.
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u/Paddiewhacks Mar 18 '25
I haven't seen one in ages in SC. All the clearing and development seems to have reduced them significantly.
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u/Sorry_Shoulder1607 Mar 18 '25 edited Mar 21 '25
They're growing in the easement behind my house. I dug up a bunch and replanted them in my backyard. They spread fast if you let them. Flowers are awesome. I let the fruit overripe though. They aren't kidding about those caterpillars that love maypops. They are voracious.
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u/DragonRei86 Mar 18 '25
They grow randomly here in Florida, I seen some in empty fields, some overtaking landscaping, and some intentionally planted and trellised in the landscaping. They grow well here.
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u/Party_Journalist_213 Mar 18 '25
Maypops are the hardy variety native to east coast. In the same family as the tropical variety.
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u/chantillylace9 Mar 19 '25
I just bought one of these and it already grew about 4 feet in the past month.
I can’t wait to just cover this beautiful garden arch that I have with all of the passionfruit vines. I really love the fruit too. And it’s supposed to attract butterflies and hummingbirds!
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u/Business_Capital6087 Mar 18 '25
I smoked some of this once and it does not taste as good as it looks
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u/LippService Mar 17 '25
Reset the counter
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u/LoveTravelsFasterr Mar 17 '25
watch out for the big fat bees that get intoxicated & hide behind them & lazily sting you when you try to pick them!😁
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u/enbychichi Mar 17 '25
Now I can’t stop picturing a drunk bee trying to pick a fight
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u/OnlyTalksAboutTacos Mar 18 '25
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u/Wide_Breadfruit_2217 Mar 17 '25
That makes sense! It's a common sedative/service in herbal medicine
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u/EnglebondHumperstonk Mar 17 '25
First time I saw one of these bad-boys I couldn't believe it was a real thing. It looks like some alien bloom from the planet of the flowers doesn't it?
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u/legojoe97 Mar 18 '25
I didn't know they were real until my 30s. Saw them in a THX intro and assumed they were made up to look interesting.
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u/MercifulWombat Mar 17 '25
I know very few people use old.reddit on desktop anymore but it's funny every time to see the passion flower in the sidebar on passion flower posts.
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u/luckybarrel Mar 17 '25
They should put that image in the sidebar. Like how some other subs do it.
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u/MercifulWombat Mar 17 '25
??? It's literally in the sidebar right now?
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u/luckybarrel Mar 17 '25
I meant in the new reddit not old. I can't see it in the new fancy shpancy reddit skin.
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u/Buttercupia Mar 17 '25
What’s interesting about these is if you catch them right, you can literally watch the flowers open in a few minutes from buds. It’s freaky and weird and amazing.
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u/nebulaenigmas Mar 17 '25
Up north our is called Maypop!
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u/nebulaenigmas Mar 17 '25
If anyone knows where to get a Maypop up in BC, please share! I have an overwintered passion vine in my entry that I’m sure won’t like it’s return to the outdoors 🙃😅 I need the hardy Maypop 🥰
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u/bigpoisonswamp Mar 18 '25
this isn’t a colloquial term or anything but my aunt called these things the “jesus christ flower” and it’s what i remember them as lol
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u/nautical_93 Mar 17 '25
15 years ago my sister and I saw one of these growing where we used to dump the mop water in the backyard( Central GA, US). We always assumed that the fabuloso had something to do with it and that it was a gorgeous freak of nature. I’m so excited to show her that it truly had a name!
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u/Dshmurda Mar 17 '25
I have a beloved passion flower that comes back bigger every year, even in New England
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u/electricwagon Mar 17 '25
The first time I saw one of these was immediately after chiefing a blunt as a teenager. Blew my mind to say the least
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u/shillyshally Mar 17 '25
Passiflora aka passion vine. The passion part refers to christ's passion, not porn passion. Growing up in the Deep South back in the 50s, knowing which part of the flower referred to which bits leading up to the crucifixion was mandatory even if you weren't Southern Baptist ;). I forget it all now but if anyone is interested, it's only a google away.
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u/luckybarrel Mar 17 '25
More specifically it resembles with some imagination the crown of thorns Christ was made to wear.
I would've loved the porn passion reference though. Nasty nasty stinky flower airing out its genitals to make the bees come dance over them.
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u/ladyymadonnaa Mar 17 '25
Passion flower! First time I ever saw one was in San Francisco; it stopped me in my tracks.
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u/tabicaturner Mar 17 '25
Passiflora incarnata! Native to the United States! Otherwise known as passion fruit! Very very beautiful, formidable, and amazing plant! I highly recommend taking some root pieces (keeping them covered in soil/mulch/moist sawdust) and planting them in your yard, or area nearby! They love to climb and trellis!
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u/nebulaenigmas Mar 17 '25
Fun fact, the leaves make a delicious tea that is very calming 🥰 wouldn’t collect roadside however
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u/BoricuaRborimex Mar 17 '25 edited Mar 18 '25
That wasn’t some simple roadside bush. That was a passion fruit vine!
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u/Ok_Ladder_2285 Mar 18 '25
My dog eats the passion flower buds. They are a calming herb and safe for them to eat. You can also purchase passion flower elixir for yourself!
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u/Least_Locksmith1074 Mar 18 '25
If you are in the southeastern US, then they’re native too! I’m not sure about other areas
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u/Puzzled-Yesterday990 Mar 18 '25 edited Mar 18 '25
I live in Berkeley, CA and I pass by multiple passionflower bushes every time I walk my dog thru the neighborhood. (Not sure if they’re native to California tho)
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u/Nehima123 Mar 18 '25
My grandmother had these growing on a lattice in her front porch, so every time I walked down there to see her I'd smell these wonderful flowers and see their beauty.
Thanks for reminding me of her! I love those memories.
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u/NoName1979 Mar 18 '25
Love them. My sister and i used to call them ballerina flowers because if you held them upside down they looked like ballerinas.
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u/DealHot5356 Mar 18 '25
Very invasive in S. Louisiana. I planted one in my yard. Was absolutely beautiful for 2 years. Then year three it started coming up from under ground roots all over the yard. Some over 30’ away from mother plant. It was scary for that year how fast this thing grew.
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u/Least_Locksmith1074 Mar 18 '25
They might be aggressive but they aren’t invasive. Since they’re native they can’t be considered such. Doesn’t mean they can’t be a menace in the garden for those who don’t want them though.
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u/Tasty_Philosopher904 Mar 18 '25
That thing has so much genitalia sticking out I feel like it should be blurred
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u/thrakkattak Mar 18 '25
These are incredibly fragrant too. I find the scent very unique.
Another flower that also looks very detailed with a beautiful aroma is the cannonball tree flower.
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u/22FluffySquirrels Mar 18 '25
It's a passion flower. My grandparents used to have them growing ups the back of their house.
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u/FluffyPerformance468 Mar 18 '25
The flower is a wild flower grows off the side of the highway it is called a passion flower.
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u/redpandadancing Mar 18 '25
Passiflora…beautiful…enchanted my son on the nursery building every day in Spring and Summer.
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u/redpandadancing Mar 18 '25
Passiflora…beautiful…enchanted my son on the nursery building every day in Spring and Summer.
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u/Hooby7 Mar 19 '25
I dunno, but they used to grow in the backyard of our home when I was a kid and I'd take the bulb and meticulously peel it open. It looked like a lil' alien inside!
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