Passiflora oerstedii | The Italian Collection of Maurizio Vecchia

DESCRIPTION:

P. oerstedii is a graceful and delicate passionflower with light pink or white flowers. It is little known and only cultivated by collectors and researchers. It presents some difficulties in adapting to growing in pots and greenhouses. It does not tolerate excessive watering or stagnant water at its roots, and suffers from chlorosis if the water used contains limestone. If you notice that the leaves tend to turn yellow, it is necessary to intervene with chelated iron-based products.

It comes from the mountains of southern Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela where it lives at altitudes of up to about 1800 metres.

It has an elegant bearing, thanks to its shiny, thin stems. The leaves have a pleasant appearance and vary in shape. Sometimes they are whole, ovate-lanceolate, with a decidedly acute apex. The 5 or 7 main veins branching off from the junction with the petiole mark and decorate the slightly leathery leaf blade, giving it a wavy appearance. There are also leaves, perhaps anomalous, consisting of only 2 lobes and more often trilobate. They are 12-13 cm in length and 8-9 cm in width.

The flowers, about 7 cm in diameter, have white or light pink sepals with terminal thorns and mauve-pink petals.

The corona is made up of various series of pink-purple filaments with hints of alternating light and dark bands against the same dominant shade. The outer corona is sparse, slightly curled at the apex and covers the corolla. The others are insignificant. There are also clones with completely white flowers.

The fruit is ovoid in shape and has a diameter of about 8-9 cm.

There is a variety of it, called P. oerstedii var. chocniana, which has dark purple flowers.

Propagation by seed produces slower growing plants than those obtained from cuttings.