by Lydia Holley April 13, 2020
There is some uncertainty exactly who gave this flower its common name. Some sources say missionaries in the 1500’s; some say a monk in the 1600’s. There is an illustration of this plant and its parts dated 1609 drawn by a monk, but perhaps it was sent to him by missionaries. Something everyone agrees upon is that it is named for the passion of Christ, because each part of the plant bears symbolism to the crucifixion. Do you know what each flower part represents?
Let’s start with the leaves. They are pointed, like the spear the Roman guards used to pierce Christ’s side. They can also represent the hands of those that persecuted Him. On the back of the leaf, there may be dots. These are representative of the coins given to Judas as payment for his betrayal – 30 pieces of silver. The tendrils symbolize the whips used to flog Him, or the cords that bound Him.
Shall we move to the flower? There are 10 petals (or, technically, five petals and five sepals, together called tepals). These represent the faithful apostles, excluding Judas, of course, because of his betrayal, and Peter, because he denied Christ. At least, that is what most sources state. However, a few sources say the 10 petals are for the 10 apostles who fled, excluding Judas, of course, and this time, excluding John because he stayed at the feet of Jesus during the crucifixion. Tradition states 10 of the apostles were martyred for their faith (all except Judas and John), so that is another possibility. White petals symbolize purity, while purple is the color of royalty.
On top of the petals are numerous thin corona filaments. Each one represents a thorn in Jesus’ crown. Traditionally, this number is 72, but there may be more filaments on your flower. We’ll move to the middle portion of the bloom. You can count five anthers. These symbolize the five wounds: each hand impaled, each foot, and the wound from the spear in His side. The column in the middle of the flower represents the post where He was scourged. There are three stigma that stand up in the middle of the bloom. They are said to symbolize the three nails which pierced Him.
The flowers only last one day, the same time as Jesus remained on the cross. The petals re-close, which is symbolic of the tomb being closed. Now smell the flower. If it has a scent, it is supposed to be the same fragrance of the spices used in Christ’s burial. The fruit of the flower, which is round, represents the world. When these are stepped on, they make a popping sound, which gives the plant its other common name, Maypop.
When you look at the passionflower, you might see a symbol of Easter. Or you may just see another blooming plant. Either way, its interesting flowers are glorious specimens of unique beauty.
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