Cooking shows are popular entertainment. Everyone from masters to aspiring chefs share their passion for specific culinary specialties and styles.
In contemporary north Florida there are some colorful native insect residents which have a desire for specific plants. Monarch butterflies are one species, but another is the Gulf Fritillary.
The object of its dining obsession is the Passion Flower. Passiflora incarnata, as it is scientifically known, is a fast-growing perennial vine. It is commonly known as passion flower, and its fruit is sometimes called a maypop.
The vine is found in sunny areas, but will not grow in heavy shade. Untended fence rows, ditches and fallow fields are sites where this vine is frequently encountered.
Passion flowers are a colorful native with intricate blooms with a mesmerizing complexity. The blooms soon become a lime-sized fruit.
The large bloom is complex with a multitude of shapes and angles within the structure. These hypnotic blossoms are attached to the climbing or trailing stems, but they are found on the ground when there is nothing on which to climb.
The flower’s color ranges from purple to near flesh color. The term incarnata, in the formal name of this local wildflower, means flesh-colored in Latin.
This dazzling regional native has been appreciated by many cultures. The Cherokee term for this bloom is Ocoee. This identifier lives on in Tennessee where the Ocoee River and the Ocoee Valley are still associated with this plant. The Florida city of Ocoee actually takes its name from the river.
The passion flower vines begin producing fruit in mid-summer called a maypop. The maypop is green and approximately the size of a large lime, but it turns yellow as it matures.
The interior of the fruit is white with abundant white seeds about the same size and shape as watermelon seeds. Historically, colonial settlers and the indigenous natives before them have eaten the raw maypops and used them in a variety of culinary applications.
Additionally, the maypops have been used in an assortment of folk medicine formulas. While there has been some basic research into its medicinal properties, the most soothing contemporary use is to enjoy the blooms.
This bright caterpillar with black spikes is at home dining on passion flower foliage. Even in panhandle Florida’s early autumn weather, these natives are preparing for the next generation of bright flyers.
The passion flower vine plays a very important role with some of north Florida’s native insect residents. It, and other less common passion flower varieties, is the exclusive host plant for the Gulf Fritillary butterfly’s caterpillar and a major food source for the Variegated Fritillary’s caterpillar.
The Gulf Fritillary caterpillar is bright orange and covered with rows of medium length black spines. The spines are soft to the touch and do not sting, but if eaten the larva is toxic.
Gulf Fritillary butterflies are a muted orange with a large silver spot on the underside of each wing. They are noted for their ability to traverse the Gulf of Mexico and travel as far as Argentina.
Gulf Fritillary butterflies have been able to expand their range because of the cultivation of passion flower varieties by the environmentally concerned. Luckily, panhandle Florida has plenty occurring naturally to feed the abundant population of these colorful insects.
This is something everyone can be passionate about.
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