细柱西番莲 xi zhu xi fan lian

Herbaceous vines, 1-4(-10) m long. Stem white or whitish gray, triangular, slender, striate. Petiole 2-4 cm, white strigose, with 2 glands at middle or slightly above; leaf blade 5-5.5(-8) × 5-6(-11) cm, abaxially gray-green, sparsely villous, base cordate, 3-lobed, lobes ovate, apex acute, mucronate. Flowers axillary, solitary or in pairs, light green or white, 1.5-2.5 cm in diam. Sepals 5-8 mm, oblong or lanceolate, outside hispidulous. Petals absent. Corona in 2 series, filamentous, outer series 3-7 mm, inner series ca. 1 mm; operculum plicate, 1-2 mm high; disk 0.5-1 mm; androgynophore 2-4 mm tall. Filaments flat, 1.5-4 mm, free; anthers oblong, 2-3 mm. Ovary subglobose, glabrous; styles 3, almost threadlike, 7-8 mm; stigma capitate. Berry turning bluish black at maturity, subglobose, 1-1.2 cm in diam. Fl. Aug-Sep, fr. Sep-Nov. 2n = 24.

Escaped weed. Taiwan, S Yunnan (Xishuangbanna) [native to the West Indies and Central and South America].

This species was treated as Passiflora gracilis J. Jacquin ex Link by Bao (in FRPS 52(1): 110. 1999). The two species are distinguished by their leaf lobes in that they are obtuse or rounded in P. gracilis vs. acute in P. suberosa; the petiolar glands are placed below the middle in P. gracilis (occasionally with one additional gland above middle) vs. at or above the middle in P. suberosa; the fruit are bluish black and ovoid or spheroid in P. suberosa vs. orange or red and ovoid and at least twice as large in P. gracilis; the largest leaves of P. gracilis have two small teeth less than 1 cm from the petiole vs. no such teeth in P. suberosa.