Native Plants

Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

Enter a Plant Name:
Or you can choose a plant family:

Marcus, Joseph A.

Passiflora lutea

Passiflora lutea L.

Yellow Passionflower, Yellow Passion Vine, Yellow Passion-flower

Passifloraceae (Passion-Flower Family)

Synonym(s): Passiflora lutea var. glabriflora

USDA Symbol: PALU2

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

This climbing or trailing vine grows to about 15 ft. in length. The greenish-yellow flowers, an inch across, give way to purple or black berries. Wide, shallowly lobed leaves with entire margins turn an attractive yellow in fall.

This is a major food plant for several species of butterfly larvae. The pollen of this species is the only known larval foodstuff of the oligolectic (and possibly monolectic) Passionflower Bee, Anthemurgus passiflorae (RESLIT 2840).

From the Image Gallery

19 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb
Fruit Type: Berry
Size Notes: Climbing stems up to about 15 feet long.
Leaf: Green

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White , Yellow , Green
Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov

Distribution

USA: AL , AR , DC , DE , FL , GA , IL , IN , KS , KY , LA , MD , MO , MS , NC , OH , OK , PA , SC , TN , TX , VA , WV
Native Distribution: PA to OH, s. IL, MO & e. KS, s. to FL, AL & TX
Native Habitat: Low, rocky, moist woods; thickets

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Low
Light Requirement: Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist
CaCO3 Tolerance: Medium
Soil Description: Limestone-based, Sandy, Sandy Loam, Various well-drained soils.
Conditions Comments: This climbing or trailing vine has greenish-yellow flowers, that give way to purple or black berries. Wide, shallowly lobed leaves with entire margins turn an attractive yellow in fall. This is a major food plant for several species of butterfly larvae.

Benefit

Use Ornamental: Showy, Attractive
Use Wildlife: Nectar-insects, Nectar-Butterflies, Fruit-small mammals, Fruit-birds.
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Attracts: Butterflies
Larval Host: Julia, Mexican & Gulf fritillaries butterflies, Zebra & Crimson-patch longwing butterflies.
Deer Resistant: High

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)

Julia Heliconian
(Dryas iulia)

Larval Host

Learn more at BAMONA

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Austin, TX
Pineywoods Native Plant Center - Nacogdoches, TX
Texas Discovery Gardens - Dallas, TX
Brackenridge Field Laboratory - Austin, TX
Stengl Biological Research Station - Smithville, TX
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - Austin, TX
Texas Master Naturalists - Lost Pines Chapter - Bastrop, TX
NPSOT - Austin Chapter - Austin, TX
Jacob's Well Natural Area - Wimberley, TX
NPSOT - Williamson County Chapter - Georgetown, TX
Mt. Cuba Center - Hockessin, DE

Herbarium Specimen(s)

NPSOT 0660 Collected Jun 6, 1992 in Medina County by Harry Cliffe

1 specimen(s) available in the Digital Herbarium

Wildflower Center Seed Bank

LBJWC-1065 Collected 2007-07-23 in Morris County by Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

1 collection(s) available in the Wildflower Center Seed Bank

Bibliography

Bibref 1186 - Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America (2005) Covell, C.V., Jr.
Bibref 1185 - Field Guide to Western Butterflies (Peterson Field Guides) (1999) Opler, P.A. and A.B. Wright
Bibref 765 - McMillen's Texas Gardening: Wildflowers (1998) Howard, D.
Bibref 291 - Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife (1999) Damude, N. & K.C. Bender
Bibref 286 - Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country (1989) Enquist, M.

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 3 - Flora of North America (2014) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Research Literature

Reslit 2840 - Foraging and Nesting Biology of the Bee Anthemurgus passiflorae (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), Descriptions of Its Immature Stages, and Observations on Its Floral Host (Passifloraceae) (1995) John L. Neff, Jerome G. Rozen Jr.

This information was provided by the Florida WIldflower Foundation.
Search More Titles in Research Literature

Additional resources

USDA: Find Passiflora lutea in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Passiflora lutea in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Passiflora lutea

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-04-26
Research By: NPC, WFS

Go back