06/10/2022
Some communities may have believed that eating passion fruit will make you fall in love with the next person you see. But, that is not how passion fruit got its name.
Passion fruit is native to Amazon and Brazilians called Lilikoi, meaning 'to spring forth leaves'. It was named after the Liliko'i Valley of Maui.
Among European missionaries, the name 'passion fruit' is a derivation of 'passion flower' which comes from the Hebrew word 'passiflora'. It refers to the passion of Jesus Christ. Missionaries were inspired by the physical appearance of this plant.
The pointed tips of the leaves are said to represent the Holy Lance and the tendrils are for whips that hit Jesus Christ. The 10 petals represent apostles except for Judas and St. Peter. The filaments of the flower look like the crown of thrones. The o***y of the flower is a symbol of Holy Grail, which is a chalice.
The three stigmas of the flowers represent the nails and five anthers represent the five wounds. The blue and white colors indicate Heaven and purity. The flower lives for three days. The missionaries found this to be representing three years Jesus Christ lived among people.
In other parts of the world, the flower is known as clock flower (Israel), tokeiso (Japan), Krishnakamala (India), tumbos (Peru and Bolivia), and Carkifelek (Turkey).