NOOOO, Stop, Don't pull this weed! Your butterfly caterpillars
will prune it for you if you just let it grow a bit, and you'll get to
enjoy watching them in your yard. The leaves are Passiflora
suberosa, commonly known as Corky Stem Passion Flower or 'that weedy
vine on the fence'. Note the wide variation in leaf shape to the
sides, and on the seedling below.
I've put passion vines all over my yard because three different kinds of
large beautiful
butterflies lay eggs on them here in South Florida.
Planting the right passion vine is one of the easiest ways to make your
yard a butterfly habitat if these butterflies are native to your area:
Zebra Heliconian
Gulf Fritillary
Julia Dryas
Now that my plants have had some time to grow without a hurricane
ripping them all up, I have LOTS of butterflies in my yard.
The photos above are all Passiflora Suberosa, Corky Stem
Passionvine. The purple one on the right might be Passiflora incarnata;
it's similar.
Whether it is or not, the
caterpillars eat it up. Stay
away from the red flowered Passiflora vines because the butterflies
might lay eggs on them but the caterpillars can die. It depends on which
red flowered vine it is, but I avoid them all because I don't know.
Look up which Passiflora are native to your area and check your local
butterfly information to see what lives on it.
To make sure you get the right passion vine for your area, contact a
local expert or look them up carefully. I've learned a lot from the
folks at both of the plant places below, and purchased plants from them.
The very best is getting a plant you don't have, and buying it with
caterpillars all ready chewing it up! What a bonus! Meadow
Beauty answered one of my 'which plant is best' questions with, "Follow
the butterflies." So I did, and just before I bought their plant, I got
to watch a butterfly lay eggs on it. It was fabulous, and those critters
emerged in MY yard!
Palm Beach - Meadow Beauty Nursery
Broward - The Garden Gate