| Young cutting showing
dimorphism, meaning two different leaf shapes. In this case single & 3 lobed
leaves. This is a characteristic of its female parent P. antioquiensis which
just appears rarely on P. x exoniensis. It is common for juvenile & adult foliage to be different in many
plants, but is far rarer for adult plants to produce adjacent leaves that are so
different. Some other Passiflora, like quadriglandulosa & suberosa, also
produce widely varied leaves as a defence against predators which then cannot
recognise it. As P. antioquiensis is pollinated by hummingbirds, it would make
sense that it would evolve to put off predators such as butterflies. |