| The bat pollinated passion flowers are thought to be P. candida, P. galbana, P. mucronata, P. ovalis (& possibly another similar species), P. penduliflora & P. trisecta. Bats are also known to eat the fruit of a number of Passiflora species and so aid dispersal. Dr. Tatyana A. Lobova advises that the NYBG Database has a list of species of Passiflora that are pollinated and dispersed by bats in the New World. You need to select 'Plant Search' and type 'Passiflora' in the Genus field. Bat pollinated Passiflora share particular characteristics:-The flowers are white/green & either hang down or are held out on a stiff peduncle from the foliage of the plant for easy access bearing in mind the size of a bat. On the flowers that are held out, the anthers can clearly be seen to be angled down so that they will dust the head of the bat with pollen. The flowers open late afternoon to after midnight & close early morning to lunchtime the next day. In the case of P. mucronata the flowers open explosively by passion flower standards in about 15 seconds, with all flowers opening within about 20 minutes. The flowers & nectar, which is constantly topped up while the flower is open, give off a distinctive sweet or musty odour decribed in the case of P. mucronata by Marlies & Ivan Sazima as like pumpkin, fresh beans or lemon cake. Most are visited by a surprising number of potential pollinators in the early evening or early morning, such as bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths & wasps. None of these however, with the possible exception of the hummingbirds, appear to get dusted with pollen or touch the stigma when drinking nectar as they are too small. | 
Bat pollinated Passiflora
