Nature's Wild side

Hi Guys!

This is my first post on LikeTu, and my second post one on Hive so bear with me if this post isn't perfect yet. I will learn, I trust the process!

Some of you might have read in @thisismylife her posts that we have moved to Spain! We are so lucky to be here. During the discovery of the neighborhood I saw these flowers hanging around and thought, let's get those on camera.

Funny fact, if you think about it, these flowers (actually all flowers) are the genitals of the plant world! They look a lot better than the ones of the animal kingdom don't you think?

Let's have a better look at this flower.

Passiflora incarnata

Personally, I like the purple passionflower, because of it's complexity. It clearly shows the wonders of nature. According to Wikipedia this flower is used in as a herbal medicine, in the belief it may be used for anxiety, insomnia, or hypertension and many other conditions but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.

One other use that can be proved: The fruit of this flower can be used for jams, jellies and desserts due to its slightly sweet-tart taste.

Health

According to JustFunFacts.com there is a very long list of health benefits from the passion fruit.

That long list of health benefits commonly attributed to passion fruit is due to the nutrient, mineral, and vitamin content of the fruit, which includes antioxidants, flavonoids, vitamin A, vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, fiber, and protein.

Even symbolism

On SFGATE I found out that the features of this flower have been used since the 1500s(!) as symbols in Christianity:

The exotic passionflower features five sepals, five petals, two thin rings above the reproductive organs, five stamens, three stigmas and three leaves. These features have been used since the 1500s as symbols in Christianity to tell the story of Christ's crucifixion, which is commonly referred to as "The Passion." The five sepals and five petals represent 10 of Jesus' 12 apostles, excluding Peter and Judas who denounced Christ just before his crucifixion. The two filament rings above the reproductive ornaments symbolize the crown of thorns. The five stamens represent Jesus' wounds, while the three stigmas symbolize the three nails used to hold Jesus on the cross. The spear used to stab Jesus is symbolized by the three leaves; the climbing tendrils symbolize the leather whips.

All in all, it is a wonderful very complex plant that I came across in my new neighborhood.
Hope you like this post, and learned a thing about this nice looking flower.

Thanks for reading!

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