Hemp Passionflower Blend

Hemp is a dioecious herbaceous annual that typically grows 4 to 9 feet tall and is entirely covered in fine hairs.¹ It has an angular, erect stem that is branching.² From the stem, its digitate leaves can be either opposite or alternately positioned on long petioles with five to seven lanceolate serrated leaflets.^1,2 The axillary female inflorescences stand upright in either a raceme or spike structure.^1,2 The male flowers have five stamens with long anthers and the female flowers have two pistils with long stigmas.² The flowers are leafy at the base with brown glands covering the sepals.¹ The whitish to grayish glossy fruits are somewhat flattened and ovate-shaped that contain one seed.^1,2 Its seed coat is brown to olive-grey, while the inner part is green and oily with a slight scent.¹

Passionflower is a fast-growing, evergreen in tropical climates, climbing, herbaceous perennial that can reach about 20 feet (approximately 6 meters).^2,3 Its hollow, lignified and slightly pubescent stems are often referred to as vines, with axillary tendrils to support climbing.^2,3,6 The dark green leaves are alternately spaced and palmately shaped with three to five lobes and a serrate margin with a whiteish underside.^2,5,6 The large fringed flowers are solitary on a long peduncle with five white to purple petals and five sepals with lavender, pink or purple filamented crowns.^2,3,6 Spreading occurs by root suckers and stolons from creeping, above-ground stems.³ Its fleshy fruits are egg-shaped berries that turn from green to yellow when mature and edible in the fall.^5,6 The dark-colored, flattened seeds are numerous and in an ovoid shape enclosed in a yellow to brown, arillate pulp.^2,6