Positive Benefits Of Passion Flower - Passiflora Incarnata

Positive Benefits Of Passion Flower - Passiflora Incarnata
Other Common Names: Carkifelek, Charkhi Felek, Granadilla,
Maypop, Maypop Passionflower, Purple Passion-flower, Saa'T Gulu, Ward
Assa'Ah, Zahril Aalaam, Passiflora incarnata

Range: Eastern N. America - Virginia and Kentucky, south to Florida and Texas.

Habitat: Sandy thickets and open soils. Fields, roadsides, fence rows and thickets.

The Passion Flowers are so named from the supposed resemblance of
the finely-cut corona in the centre of the blossoms to the Crown of
Thorns and of the other parts of the flower to the instruments of the
Passion of Our Lord. Passiflora incarnata has a perennial root, and the
herbaceous shoots bear three-lobed, finelyserrated leaves and
flesh-colored or yellowish, sweet-scented flowers, tinged with purple.
The ripe, orange-colored, ovoid, many-seeded berry is about the size of
a small apple; when dried, it is shrivelled and greenish-yellow. The
yellow pulp is sweet and edible.

Many species yield edible fruits or are cultivated for their beauty
and fragrance. There appears to be no detailed analysis of this
species, but its active principle, which has been called Passiflorine,
would appear to be somewhat similar to morphine.

P. quadrangularis, the Common Granadilla, a native of Jamaica and
South America grown for its large edible fruit, the purple, succulent
pulp of which is eaten with wine and sugar, has a root said to be very
poisonous and a powerful narcotic; in small doses it is anthelmintic.
It is used in Mauritius as a diuretic and emetic.

Passion flower is a valuable sedative and tranquilizing herb with a
long history of use in North America. It is frequently used in the
treatment of insomnia, epilepsy, hysteria etc.

The leaves and stems are antispasmodic, astringent, diaphoretic,
hypnotic, narcotic, sedative, vasodilator and are also used in the
treatment of women's complaints. The plant is harvested after some of
the berries have matured and is then dried for later use. It is used in
the treatment of insomnia, nervous tension, irritability, neuralgia,
irritable bowel syndrome, premenstrual tension and vaginal discharges.
An extract of the plant depresses the motor nerves of the spinal cord,
it is also slightly sedative, slightly reduces blood pressure and
increases respiratory rate. The plant contains alkaloids and flavonoids
that are an effective non-addictive sedative that does not cause
drowsiness. The plant is not recommended for use during pregnancy.

A poultice of the roots is applied to boils, cuts, earaches, inflammation etc.

The dried plant is exported from America to Europe for medicinal usage.

A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant.

Fruit - raw or cooked in jellies, jams etc. A sweet flavor, it is
best when used as a jelly. High in niacin. Fairly large, the fruit is
up to 5cm in diameter though it contains relatively little edible pulp
and a lot of seeds.

• Grieve. M. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9