passionflower

UK: /ˈpæʃənˌflaʊə/ US: (pash′ən flou′ər)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pas•sion•flow•er  (pash′ən flou′ər), n. 

1. Plant Biology any chiefly American climbing vine or shrub of the genus Passiflora, having showy flowers and a pulpy berry or fruit that in some species is edible.

• 1605–15; translation of Neo-Latin flōs passiōnis flower of the Passion; so named because the parts of the flower were imagined as symbolic of the objects and events of Christ's Passion

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

passionflower / ˈpæʃənˌflaʊə/ noun

1. any passifloraceous plant of the tropical American genus Passiflora, cultivated for their red, yellow, greenish, or purple showy flowers: some species have edible fruit
   See also granadilla

Etymology: 17th Century: so called from the alleged resemblance between parts of the flower and the instruments of Christ's crucifixion