Revision of Passiflora Subgenus Decaloba ... - Passion Flowers

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Passiflora suberosa ssp. suberosa has the cup-shaped flowers typical of the
supersection and white sepals. However, P. pallida and P. suberosa ssp.
suberosa can be difficult to separate without reproductive material. The leaves of
P. suberosa ssp. suberosa are darker green in color than those of P. pallida and
sometimes have laminar nectaries, these strictly absent in P. pallida. They are
also wide, i.e., (2.9-)5.0-12.0(-17.1) cm, in P. suberosa ssp. suberosa, and
although this overlaps with the (0.3-)6.0-7.0(-10.6) cm range in P. pallida, the
character can frequently be used to distinguish between them. In addition, the
leaf bases of P. suberosa ssp. suberosa are cordate (when they are not peltate),
whereas those of P. pallida are very rarely cordate and usually are acute to
cuneate. The stems, leaves (especially at their margins), tendrils, and stipules
are frequently reddish purple in P. suberosa ssp. suberosa, and the vegetative
parts of P. pallida generally possess little, if any, reddish purple coloration.
Passiflora pallida may be densely pubescent where it occurs in the Caribbean,
but P. suberosa ssp. suberosa appears glabrous. The flowers of P. pallida are
much smaller than those of P. suberosa ssp. suberosa. Passiflora pallida has
sepals that are very rarely greater than 8 mm long, but the sepals of P. suberosa
ssp. suberosa are always longer than 8 mm. The hypanthium in P. pallida is 2.2-
4.2 mm wide, whereas that of P. suberosa ssp. suberosa is 5.5-8.8 mm wide.
Passiflora pallida has short staminal filaments (1.4-3.0 mm), and P. suberosa
ssp. suberosa has staminal filaments that are 3.4-6.8 mm long. The sepals of P.
suberosa ssp. suberosa are white, whereas those of P. pallida are commonly
greenish yellow; though P. pallida may possess light colored sepals in the