Purple Passion Flower

by Tim Abeln

Title

Purple Passion Flower

Artist

Tim Abeln

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

A miracle of mother nature, the Passion Flower. Ever wondered why it is called that?

Spanish Christian missionaries who first discovered it in South America called this flower "Espina de Cristo" (Christ's thorns). Each part of the flower holds symbolic meaning in recognition of the crucifixion story - the passion of the Christ. Five sepals and five petals refer to the ten faithful apostles (excluding Judas and Peter). Three stigma represent the three nails that held Christ to the cross, while five anthers represent his five sacred wounds. The tendrils of the flower are said to resemble the whips used in the flagellation, while the filaments, which can number in excess of a hundred depending on the flower, depict the crown of thorns.
Outside the Christian world the regularly shaped flowers have reminded people of the face of a clock. In Israel they are known as "clock-flower", in Greece as "clock plant"; in Japan too, they are known as tokeiso. In Hawaiian, they are called lilikoi; li is a string used for tying fabric together, such as a shoelace, and liko means "to spring forth leaves".

1st prize in the "Mother nature's paint brush" contest

Uploaded

July 4th, 2017

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