passionflower

Alternative forms

• passion flower, Passionflower, Passion flower

Etymology

passion +‎ flower; from the number of its various parts, thought to be symbolic of Christ's passion. See Passiflora on Wikipedia.Wikipedia (Etymology and names)

Noun

passionflower (plural passionflowers)

1. Any of very many vines in North America and elsewhere, of the genus Passiflora, that bear edible fruit, called passion fruit and showy flowers of a structure symbolic of the Passion of Christ.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Robert Southey, History of Brazil

     The Priests observed frequent fasts, and abstained at all times from certain animals and fruits, especially from the Granadilla, the fruit of the Passion-flower, because, say the lying Jesuits, of the mysteries which are signified in that marvellous blossom […]

2. The flower of this plant.

References

• Passiflora on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Passiflora on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Passiflora on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
• Passiflora at USDA Plants database
• “passionflower” in the Collins English Dictionary, Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers.
• “passionflower” (US) / “-” (UK) in Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press.