CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Science & Nature

Passiflora × violacea

species of plant

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
Science and natureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 18, 2025
Entity authorityQ10715890
Source-derived summary

Passiflora × violacea, the violet passion flower, is a hybrid between two species of flowering plants, Passiflora racemosa × Passiflora caerulea, in the family Passifloraceae. The name Passiflora × violacea has yet to be resolved as a correct scientific name; nevertheless it is widely found in the horticultural literature.

It is an evergreen climber growing to 6 m (20 ft) with five-lobed leaves, clinging spiral tendrils, large showy purple flowers with maroon and white filaments, and the prominent stigmas and anthers typical of the genus. While somewhat hardier than one of its parents, P. racemosa, it is considerably less hardy than the other, P. caerulea (which can be grown outside in warm or coastal areas). P. × violacea will tolerate temperatures down to −1 °C (30 °F), but in most temperate zones is grown under glass, for instance in an unheated conservatory or greenhouse.

Passiflora × violacea may well be the very first Passiflora to have been hybridised, by the British nurseryman Thomas Milne, in 1819. It was subsequently described by Joseph Sabine of the Royal Horticultural Society, then in 1824 by the French botanist Jean-Louis-Auguste Loiseleur-Deslongchamps in the "Herbier General de l'Amateur", giving it its current name.

This hybrid has in its turn given rise to several cultivars, notably 'Victoria'. It has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Passiflora × violacea” is species of plant. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Passiflora, violacea and species, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA sound reference starting point where classification, measurement and the date of the underlying evidence remain visible. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1819, 1824—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Passiflora, violacea and species is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “species of plant” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 18, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q10715890. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1819 and 1824.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
Verify next

Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Passiflora × violacea”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Passiflora × violacea primary sources, Passiflora × violacea archive and Passiflora research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Passiflora × violacea”?
  2. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
  3. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Passiflora × violacea” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.