Passiflora apetala
Common name
bat-wing passion flower
Family
Passifloraceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Lianes & Related Trailing Plants - Dicotyledons
Conservation status
Not applicable
Distribution
Found naturalised in Northland and Auckland and has also been previously recorded growing in a butterfly park in Thames in the Waikato.
Habitat
Found in regenerating native forest and scrub, home gardens and amongst hedges and fence lines.
Detailed description
A shade tolerant vine. It has leaves with two large lobes (that resemble a bat wing) and some have pale green stripes along the midribs. It has small yellow/green coloured flowers (7-12mm diameter) and produces small black berries about the size of a smll grape (7-15mm diameter). The berries are inedible and non-toxic to humans but attractive to birds.
Flower colours
Green, Yellow
Year naturalised
Imported approx. 30 years ago.
Origin
Costa Rica and Panama, Central America
Etymology
passiflora: Passionflower
apetala: From the Latin prefix a- ‘without’ and petalum ‘petal’,
National Pest Plant Accord species
This plant is listed in the 2020 National Pest Plant Accord. The National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA) is an agreement to prevent the sale and/or distribution of specified pest plants where either formal or casual horticultural trade is the most significant way of spreading the plant in New Zealand. For up to date information and an electronic copy of the 2020 Pest Plant Accord manual (including plant information and images) visit the MPI website.