Passion Flowers

code: Passion Flowers - GALLERY , ORIGINAL PAINTINGS

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The Blue, or Common Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea), is a South American vine native to Uruguay , Brazil and Argentina. It is popular with gardeners because of its intricate, scented flowers which attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. It is a natural habitat for the Gulf Fritillary Butterfly whose larvae live off the foliage.
The unusual shape of the flowers has led to the plant being associated in Christian symbolism with the passion of Jesus; the three stigmas representing the three nails used to nail Jesus to the cross, the ovary and its stalk represent the chalice of the Last Supper, the five anthers represent the five wounds, the corona represents the crown of thorns, the ten ´petals´ (actually five petals and five sepals) the apostles (save Judas the traitor and Peter the denier); the old leaves also represent the hands of those who persecuted Him, the young leaves the point of the lance used to stab Him, and the tendrils the whips of those who beat Him.