Passiflora, known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 500 species of flowering plants, the type genus of the family Passifloraceae. They are mostly vines, with some being shrubs, and a few species being herbaceous. The family Passifloraceae has a pantropical distribution. Passiflora itself is absent from Africa, where many other members of the family Passifloraceae occur e.g. the more plesiomorphic Adenia. Some species of Passiflora have been naturalised beyond their native ranges. For example, blue passion flower P. caerulea now grows wild in Spain. The bracts of the stinking passion flower are covered by hairs which exude a sticky fluid. Many small insects get stuck to this and get digested to nutrient-rich goo by proteases and acid phosphatases. Since the insects usually killed are rarely major pests, this passion flower seems to be a protocarnivorous plant.
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