Passionflower

Botanical name: Passiflora incarnata 

Native to South America, Spanish explorers discovered Passionflower in Peru in 1569. According to popular folklore, the flower got its name from the resemblance of its corona to the crown of thorns worn by Jesus during the crucifixion. Passiflora incarnata is one of the hardiest species of the passionflower family and it is a common wildflower in the southern United States.

Passionflower was traditionally used in the Americas and subsequently throughout Europe as a popular herbal remedy for the treatment of nervous anxiety, stress and insomnia. It is revered by medical herbalists and an excellent nervous system tonic and used for a variety of conditions including tension headaches and irritability.