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Vine
Purple Passionflower
Passiflora incarnata
Also called: Maypop, Passion Vine
Updated 2026-09-16
An extravagant, fringed purple flower unlike anything else native, followed by egg-sized edible fruit. The essential larval host for Gulf Fritillary and other longwing butterflies.
Purple passionflower, also sold as maypop, is the native passion vine of East and Central Texas. The flower looks like something from a tropical greenhouse, with a ring of wavy purple filaments over a white and purple center, but the plant is as tough as any roadside weed. It climbs by tendrils, dies back to the ground when winter gets cold, and comes up again from the roots in spring.
Most people who plant it are after butterflies. Gulf fritillaries in particular lay eggs on it, and in a good year their caterpillars can strip a vine hard more than once. That is the plant doing its job. It regrows quickly, and the adults that come out of those caterpillars are the orange butterflies you see working the rest of the garden.
Growing & care
Spreads by root and can wander — site where suckers are welcome or contain it. Dies back in winter and returns. Expect caterpillars; that's the point.
Where purple passionflower grows in Texas
In the wild it grows in the eastern half of the state: the Blackland Prairies, the East Central Texas Plains, the Gulf Coast prairies and the coastal plain. Look for it on roadsides, in old pastures and meadows, and along creek banks and woodland edges.
It adapts well outside that range and grows in sandy, loamy or clay soil. Expect it to spread harder on the deep clay of the Blackland Prairie around Dallas, Waco and Austin than it does on thin Hill Country soil, so plan the site with that in mind.
How to plant purple passionflower
Give it sun or part shade and something to climb: a chain-link fence, a trellis, a cattle panel or a tree with open lower branches. A spot with morning sun and a little afternoon relief works well in the hottest parts of the state.
Most gardeners start with a nursery plant. Seed works too, but it needs two to three months of cold, moist stratification before it will sprout. Stem cuttings treated with rooting hormone usually root in four to six weeks.
Avoid ground that stays soggy in winter, since the roots can rot there. North Carolina State Extension also rates the vine as highly flammable, so keep it off walls and fences that touch the house.
Watering purple passionflower the first year
Water a new plant every few days for the first couple of weeks, then about once a week through its first summer unless it rains. By the second year it gets by on rainfall in most of its native range and needs only an occasional deep soak in a long dry spell.
Purple Passionflower care through the seasons
Very little. Cut the dead top growth back after a hard freeze, or leave it until late winter if you want the tangle to shelter insects. New shoots appear in spring once the soil warms, so do not give up on it if March looks empty.
The real chore is managing where it goes. The vine sends up new shoots from its roots, sometimes several feet from the original plant. Pull or mow the ones you do not want while they are young. In a small yard, plant it where a lawn or a path edge can stop it.
Common purple passionflower problems
Suckering is the complaint you will hear most. It can take over a small bed, but it suits a fence line or the back of a large yard.
The second complaint is ragged leaves, which are almost always caterpillars. Do not spray them; they are the reason to grow the plant. Beyond that, NC State lists occasional phlox plant bugs and barnacle scale, and root rot in wet winter soil.
Wildlife value of purple passionflower
The Native Plant Society of Texas lists it as a larval host for the gulf fritillary, variegated fritillary, zebra longwing, Julia, crimson-patch longwing and red-banded hairstreak. Bees and butterflies visit the flowers for nectar, birds nest in heavy growth, and songbirds and small mammals eat the fruit.
Using purple passionflower in the garden
Use it to cover a chain-link fence, a trellis on a garage wall or an arbor in a butterfly garden. Pair it with nectar plants that feed the adult butterflies, such as Gregg's mistflower and Texas lantana, so the garden supports the whole life cycle in one place.
Is maypop fruit edible?
The fruit is where the name maypop comes from: it is a hollow, egg-shaped berry that pops when you step on it. When it ripens it turns yellowish and the pulp around the seeds can be eaten fresh or cooked into jelly. The leaves and stems are a different story. NC State notes they contain cyanogenic glycosides and can cause nausea and vomiting, so do not eat them or brew them.
Purple Passionflower FAQ
Is purple passionflower native to Texas?
Yes. Passiflora incarnata grows wild in the Blackland Prairies, the East Central Texas Plains and along the Gulf Coast, and it grows well in gardens across much of the state.
Can you eat maypop fruit?
The ripe fruit, once it turns yellowish, is edible fresh or as jelly. Leave the leaves and stems alone; they contain compounds that can make you sick.
Why are caterpillars eating my passion vine?
Those are almost certainly gulf fritillary or other longwing caterpillars, and feeding them is the main reason to plant this vine. It regrows from the roots.
Does passionflower die in winter?
The top dies back after a hard freeze and the plant returns from its roots in spring. In mild coastal winters the stems may stay partly green.
Will deer eat passionflower?
It is not considered deer resistant, so protect young plants where deer browse.
Bloom season
In bloom: Jun–Sep · Colors: purple
Where to buy
Look for purple passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) at: native Texas nurseries, Prairie Moon Nursery.
Guides featuring purple passionflower
Sources
Range, nomenclature, and the USDA symbol above come from the federal plant record for this species. Check it yourself:
Good for
Plant it with
Natives that pair with purple passionflower
Same conditions, same uses — species that share purple passionflower's growing requirements and belong in the same bed.
Crossvine
Bignonia capreolata
A vigorous semi-evergreen climber that covers a fence or arbor in orange-red trumpets in early spring — timed for the first returning hummingbirds.
Coral Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
A well-behaved native vine — none of the invasive habit of Japanese honeysuckle — with clusters of coral trumpets that hummingbirds cannot resist..
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
A prairie staple whose big rosy daisies feed butterflies in summer and finches in winter.
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Spikes of the most intense scarlet of any native flower, rising from moist shade in late summer.
Fall Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
A mounding aster that vanishes into the background all summer, then bursts into a haze of blue-purple daisies in October — a lifeline of late nectar for pollinators..
Standing Cypress
Ipomopsis rubra
A tall biennial spike of fiery red tubular flowers that hummingbirds chase up and down.