Passionfruit Flower

I have high hopes this flower will soon be pollinated and become a fruit. The variety I have in the garden is the yellow type. Apparently there is a purple type but I haven’t seen any yet. I love having “lilikoi”(Hawaiian name for passion fruit) in my garden. The fruits I gather can be made into jam or jelly but most of the time I use it to flavor my tea with a little bit of pineapple juice the recipe for the famous “plantation tea” here in Hawaii. I am also in the experimental phase of making lilikoi bars or shortbread cookies flavored with lilikoi.

I just learned that Passion fruit Flower is the national flower of Paraguay. But what interest me most is that the flower got its name from the Missionaries because it reminded them of the passion of Christ before He was crucified. The three stigmas reflect the three nails used to crucify Him. The five anthers are the five wounds. The ten petals represents the Apostles without Judas and Peter. The color purple of the petals represent the purple robe the Jews let Him wear as the King of the Jews, the threads as the crown of thorns and the tendrils as the whips used to scourge Him. It is very fitting this time of year because of the Lenten Season. I feel blessed having this Passion fruit lowers in my garden.

Did you know that the flowers only open up at dusk for pollination? I would bring camera in the morning and nothing is open. So I decided to go to the garden before 6:00 in the evening and there, the flower is waiting for me to capture its beauty. Amazing!