SUBGENUS: passiflora
SUPERSECTION: tacsonia
SECTION: tacsonia
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OR ORIGIN:
Ecuador and Peru at altitudes from 2,500 to 3,500 m.
MINIMUM TEMPERATURE: 5 °C
IDEAL MINIMUM TEMPERATURE: 8 °C
ETYMOLOGY: Dedicated to the English botanist Andrew Mathews (1801-1841) who first collected this species.
PHOTOGALLERY:
DESCRIPTION:
It is a rare species from the Peruvian Andes, whose already limited original habitat is now threatened by intensive crop farming. It has remarkable similarities with other species of the same subgenus, such as P. mixta, P. tripartita and P. ampullacea, and is not easy to cultivate in our climates.
Its leathery leaves are trilobate (6 x 6 cm), with narrow lobes, lanceolate in shape, arranged orthogonally to each other. The leaf margin is serrated, and the upper surface is shiny while the lower surface is slightly tomentose.
Its flowers are pink. From the tubular calyx, about 4 cm long and covered at the base by connate bracts, the corolla opens, with its diameter of about 7 cm, and light pink sepals and petals covered in dots of the same, but slightly darker, colour. The corona is made up of minute tubercles.
There is a beautiful all-white variety, which has only recently become available. This colour is rare in the section Tacsonia.
Its hardiness has not yet been tested, but, by analogy with other passionflowers of the same subgenus and due to its Andean origin, one can deduce that in winter, it could bear temperatures just above zero. Its cultivation should be tried and tested, for example, on the Ligurian Riviera and the neighbouring hillsides, where other Tacsonia are perfectly acclimatised, as the winters are mild and the summer temperatures are not too high. It does not tolerate excessive watering and is sensitive to fungal diseases of the root system. However, it is possible to keep it in a pot so as to shelter it during the winter, and to place it outdoors in the summer in a shady, cool position.
Seeds from the regions of origin are available and propagation is also simple from cuttings.