Passiflora incarnata, or Passion flower is a fairly common vine that can climb to a height of 10-20 feet!!!  

 

It has large, showy lavender flowers that appear in May or June and last through mid-summer.  They grow like a weed in open spaces, and no farmer in his right mind would allow it to invade his fields.  I started out this spring weeding them from the tomato cages, but then i just let them go, because the flowers are so pretty, AND the Fritillary butterflies use Passiflora as a host plant for their caterpillars.  

 

They are blooming now.  There are about 10 vines, each one with at least 5 flower buds.  Each blossom is about 2-3 inches across, and fragrant.  The fruit that develops after the flower fades is edible.  It is a many-seeded berry about the size and shape of a lemon.  It turns yellow and wrinkly when it's ripe.  It is also called wild apricot and maypop.  We've tasted them, but they have too many seeds to warrant the trouble to process them.  That's my opinion; some folks love going to the trouble and make juices, jams, tarts and pies using passion fruits.

 

They are just too pretty to throw away.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!