supplement
Passionflower
Passionflower is a member of the passion vines (of which passionfruit is one). As a medicine it has been used to promote sleep and reduce anxiety.
Words DR KAREN BRIDGMAN
Photography Getty Images
Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is a traditional medicine utilising the flowers as well as the berries, roots and leaves, originally prized by native North American people before spreading to Europe. Traditional uses reflect the uses today and in Europe these are mainly as a tea for insomnia and anxiety. In North America it is primarily used for sedation and in Brazil as an anti-asthmatic and analgesic and for sedation. In the Amazon, passionflower was a component of an analogue of the shamanic hallucinogenic drink ayahuasca.
The name “passionflower” came from the Spanish Christian missionaries in the 15th and 16th centuries, who thought the physical structures of the flower symbolised the passion of Christ in Christian theology.