Plant Study
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Passion flower
Family Name: Passionflower
Family Name: Passifloraceae
Latin Name: Passiflora incarnata
Common Names: Maypops, Passion vine, purple passion flower (3:303).
Related Species: There are over 4000 species of Passionflower
Body System Affiliations:
1. Nervous system
2. cardio-vascular system (1:190)
3. Hormonal system (4:137)
Botanical Description:
Habit: Perennial, herb, climbing shrub, small tree
Size: up to 30 ft. (5:106)
Arrangement: Alternate, Opposite or Whorled?
Leaves: 3-5 lobed, up to 15 cm. long (3:303)
Flowers: lavender to white, 7 cm. (3:303)
Fruit: egg shaped, yellow, 5 cm. (3:303)
Underground Parts: fibrous root (unknown for sure but no other type was specified).
Ecology:
Habitat: Tropical.
Range: tropical America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific islands (5:106).
Native Where: North, south and Central America (5:106).
Western (European-American) Uses/Relationships:
Food: fruits are eaten raw
Medicine: (Cite all your sources throughout this section)
Part Used: leaf, stem, flower, root (1:191)
Medicinal Actions: Sedative, Hypnotic, nervine, tonic, anti-spasmodic, anti-inflammatory (3:303).
Indications: Nervous tension, anxiety, insomnia, irritability, tension headache, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, premenstrual tension, nervous tachycardia, hypertension, shingles (3:303), seizures, hysteria, neuralgia (5:106).
Body System Associations: Nervous, cardio-vascular and hormonal systems.
Constituents: alkaloids (harmane and harmaline), glycosides, flaconoids, apigenin, bitter (3:303), chrysin (5:106).
Applications: Tincture, infusion
Preparation:
Tincture: when using dried herb
Grind herb and place in jar with alcohol
Shake jar to saturate all herb
Add additional alcohol so that it levels ¼ in. above the level of herb
Seal jar air tight. If herb continues to absorb alcohol then continue to add more so that the level remains at ¼ in.
Let soak for 14 days shaking once a day then let sit for one day undisturbed.
Pour top liquid off and add to the pressings from wet pulp, seal tightly to store. ((6:149)
Infusion: When using loose herb
Mix herb with 1 cup boiling water
Cover and let steep for 5-10 min.
Strain and drink (5:434)
Pharmacy: Tincture: 30-60 drops twice a day, as often as 2-3 hours (1:191).
Infusion: drink 2-4 cups a day for 1 week (1:191).
Other: Teas are milder on the body and are proffered for children less than 3 years of age (5:10). When using passion flower start with the lowest amount recommended until reaction is known, then slowly increase as needed (1:191). Nowhere could I find any separation of the parts of the plant broken down to “only leafs are used for…” and so on.
Cautions: When making an infusion, never use metallic tea balls or pots because it is feared that it may have a bad reaction with certain constituents in the herb (5:434).
Use professionally prepared medications (2:303), Passiflora caerulea contains cyanide and there is some fear that this may be substituted if you purchase the unprocessed herb (5:107).
Indigenous and Non-Western Use/Significance/Relationships: If available, write “None found” if you don’t find any. CITE ALL SOURCES IF YOU DO FIND.
Medicine:
Indigenous Group: The Houma tribe (In Native America) (3:303).
Part Used: unknown
Medicinal Actions: tonic.
Energetics: cooling herb (not sure if this was known by the indigenous of not)
Preparation: cold infusion
Applications: added to drinking water as a tonic. (3:303).
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Propagation:
Technique: Plant seed in cold weather; 64-70 F. outdoors or indoors in a well drained, sandy, slightly acid soil, in sun (3:303).
Timing: Plant in spring (3:303)
Harvest:
Plant Part: stem, root, leaves, and flowers
Season of Harvest: summer
Method of Harvest: cut and dry for use in infusions and tinctures.
Ecological Consideration of Harvest: the flowers are grown and harvested for their beauty and are used for decorations.
Plant Part: fruit
Season of Harvest: Autumn
Method of Harvest: pick when ripe and eat raw.
Personal Experience:
Food: I have eaten Passion fruit in the past on a vacation to St. Martin Island in the French West Indies. I really did not care for the texture or flavor.
Medicine:
Part Used: dried herb (from radiance)
Desired Medicinal Actions: I would like to use passionflower to calm the anxiety of both me and my mother.
Targeted Indications: anxiety, nervous tension, asthma, tension headache.
Procurement:
Source Radiance (5th ave. Olympia, Wa.)
Condition Dried
Cost $1.13 oz.
Other Procurement Information none found
Application/Preparation/Pharmacy:
Applications Tincture
Preparation Grind herb and place in jar with alcohol
Shake jar to saturate all herb
Add additional alcohol so that it levels ¼ in. above the level of herb
Seal jar air tight. If herb continues to absorb alcohol then continue to add more so that the level remains at ¼ in.
Let soak for 14 days shaking once a day then let sit for one day undisturbed.
Pour top liquid off and add to the pressings from wet pulp, seal tightly to store. ((6:149)
Pharmacy I have not taken any yet; my medicine is still in the process of being made.
Reason/Purpose My deepest hope is that my mother’s anxiety will be lessened by this medicine. As for myself I too wish this for me as well as my overall nerves being calmed in my day to day life.
Experience I had a great time making this tincture knowing that when it is done I will be able to take what I have done this quarter in class and use it to help people close to me.
Other Notes of Interest: Spanish missionaries in South America regarded the flower as symbols of Christ’s passion- the 3 stigmas representing the nails, the 5 antlers the wounds, and the 10 sepals the apostles. (3:303)
Passionflower is used to help withdrawal from some addictive drugs including Benzodizepine and Valium.
Cautions: It is recommended to use only professionally prepared remedies.
Passion flower can cause drowsiness and increase the effects of alcohol, sedatives and tranquilizers (5:107).
Do not take during pregnancy so to the stimulation of uterine muscles that may be caused (5:107).
Children under the age of 2 should not take passion flower of any kind (5:107).
References Cited:
- Stansbury, Jill N.D. Herbs for Health and Healing, a Wellness Guide to Herbal Remedies. Lincoln wood Illinois: Publications International, Ltd, 1997.
- Lust, John, N.D., D.B.M. The Herb Book. New York, NY: Benedict lust publications, 1974
- Brown, Deni. The Herb Society of America New Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses: the definitive guide to the identification, cultivation and uses of herbs. New York, NY: DK publishing, Inc, 1995.
- Parvati, Jeannine. Hygieia: A Woman’s Herbal. 1978
- Balch, Phyllis A.,CNC. Prescription for Herbal Healing: an Easy-to-use A-to-Z Reference to Hundreds of Common Disorders and Their Herbal Remedies. New Your, NY: Penguin Putnam Inc, 2002.
- Green, James. The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook. Berkeley, California: The Crossing Press, 2000.
Lacey Graves - Arts, environment and the child - winter - 2006
Plant Narrative:Passiflora incarnata
passiflora incarnata grows nativly in North, South and Central America. it can also be found in tropical america, Asia, Australia, new zealand and pacific islands(5:106). Its flowers are lavander and whits its leaves have 3-5 lobes and it grows from fibrous roots. The plant produces yellow egg shaped fruit. Passiflora incarnata is one of over 400 species of Passionflower(3:303).
The nervous system, cardia-vascular system and hormonal system are all betered by its use. it actsas a sedative, hypnotic, nervine, tonic, anti-spasmodic and anti-inflammatory. It can help with problems of Nervous tension, anxiety, insomnia, irritability, tension headache, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, premenstrual tension, nervous tachycardia, hypertension, shingles, seizures, hysteria and neuralgia(1:190, 3:303, 4:137, 5:106).
The leaf, stem, root and flowers can all be used to make tinctures and infusions. It can also be added to drinking water as a tonic, as done by the Jouma tribe in native America(3:303). Parts should be harvested for drying in summer while planting takes place in spring with temp. of 64-70 F. indoor or outdoor. Soil should be well drained, sandy, slightly acidic, and in sunlight(3:303)
when taking Passiflora incarnata medicine it is best to start with the lowest reccomended dosage and slowly add until desired results are recieved. For a tincture this dosage would be 30-60-drops 2-3 times a day as needed. for an infusion it is 2-4 cups a day for 1 week(1:191). Infusions are milider medicine which is reccomended for children under the age of 3(5:10), Though no form of passionflower should be taken by children under the age of 2(5:107)
Cautions:
due to the constituent of cyanide in Passiflora caerulea, it is reccommended to only take professionally prepared medicines(5:107).
Passionflower can cause drowsiness and may increase effects of alcohol, sedatives and tranquilizers(5:107)
It should not be taken by children under the age of 2 or by women who are or plan to become pregnant do to its effects of uterine muscle stimulation(5:107)
when making infusion never use matallic tea balls or pots because a bad reaction can arise with certian constituents in the plant(5:434).
