# Stinking Passionflower (*passiflora foetida*)

The Stinking Passionflower is a fast-growing, creeping vine native to the tropical Americas but now widely naturalized across the globe. Known for the strong, unpleasant odor released when its foliage is bruised, this remarkable plant has adapted beautifully to disturbed habitats, roadsides, and forest edges. Its delicate, elaborate flowers are a marvel of evolutionary design, showcasing a complex arrangement of white-to-pale-purple petals and thread-like corona filaments.

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Snaps:** 1
- **Habitat:** Typically found in disturbed areas, forest edges, dry fields, coastal scrub, and roadsides in tropical and subtropical regions.
- **Also known as:** Passiflora lanuginosa, Stinking Passionflower, scarletfruit passionflower

![Stinking Passionflower](https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/198173764/medium.jpg)

## Appearance

This climbing vine is easily identified by its alternate, three-lobed leaves covered in fine, sticky glandular hairs. The striking flowers, measuring 2 to 5 centimeters across, are cream-colored to pale pinkish-purple and are uniquely enveloped by a deeply divided, lace-like collar of sticky green bracts. As the flower matures, it produces a round, paper-wrapped berry that transitions from green to a vibrant yellow-orange or red when fully ripe.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Malpighiales
- **Family:** Passifloraceae
- **Genus:** Passiflora

## Interesting facts

- Its lace-like bracts are covered in sticky glands that trap insects, making it a protocarnivorous plant, though scientists still debate if it fully digests them.
- The ripe, sweet yellow-to-orange fruits are edible and eaten in many parts of the world, but the unripe green fruits are toxic due to cyanogenic glycosides.
- The species name 'foetida' translates to 'stinking' in Latin, referencing the pungent aroma released when the foliage is touched.

## Special abilities

- **Protocarnivorous Trapping:** It utilizes sticky, glandular hairs on its lacy bracts to trap small insects, which may deter pests or provide supplemental nutrients.
- **Chemical Defense:** Its leaves emit a foul, musty odor and contain cyanogenic glycosides that deter herbivorous mammals and insects from feeding.
- **Sensory Climbing Tendrils:** Highly sensitive axillary tendrils wrap around nearby structures upon touch, allowing the vine to quickly climb and secure sunlight.

## Measurements & details

- **Length:** 150-500 cm
- **Lifespan:** 2-5 years
- **Incubation:** 14-30 days

## Diet & Feeding

As a photoautotrophic plant, it synthesizes its own food using sunlight while supplementing nutrients by trapping small insects.

- **Primary Foods:** Sunlight, Carbon dioxide, Water, Soil nutrients
- **Foraging Method:** Passive Trapping

## Ecological connections

- **Eaten by:** Tawny Coster (*Acraea terpsicore*) — Caterpillars feed on the foliage, utilizing the plant's toxins for their own chemical defense.
- **Host plant:** [Gulf Fritillary](https://www.snappit.app/explore/gulf-fritillary) (*Agraulis vanillae*) — Caterpillars use this vine as a primary host plant, feeding heavily on the leaves.
- **Mutualism:** Western Honey Bee (*Apis mellifera*) — Bees visit the flowers for nectar and pollen, acting as key pollinators.

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

No special safety notes yet.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Stinking Passionflower?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How long is Stinking Passionflower?

150-500 cm

### How long does Stinking Passionflower live?

2-5 years

### What does Stinking Passionflower eat?

As a photoautotrophic plant, it synthesizes its own food using sunlight while supplementing nutrients by trapping small insects.

### Where is Stinking Passionflower usually found?

Typically found in disturbed areas, forest edges, dry fields, coastal scrub, and roadsides in tropical and subtropical regions.

### How does Stinking Passionflower hunt?

Passive Trapping

### How long do Stinking Passionflower eggs take to hatch?

14-30 days

## Where to spot

- [Puna-Ka'u Historic District](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/puna-kau-historic-district) — Hawaii, US · Historic District
- [King William Historic District](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/king-william-historic-district) — Texas, US · Historic District

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Stinking Passionflower: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/stinking-passionflower)