Passionflower, which symbolizes the Passion of Jesus Christ
Description
According to tradition, Spanish missionaries used passion flowers to illustrate the crucifixion story of Jesus Christ. When they discovered passion flowers in America, they saw in the five sepals and the five petals a reference to ten of the twelve apostles: Peter and Judas are excluded. The three pistils resembled the nails that nailed Jesus Christ to the cross. The corona resembled the crown of thorns of Christ. The serpentine tendrils looked like a whip. The three bracts represented the three Marys (Jesus' mother, Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene) at the cross. The blue of the flower referred to heaven or to the blue robe of Mary.
