Passionflower beside a Wooden Trellis

Spanish missionaries in South America named the passionflower after the Passion of Christ. They read the frilly ring of filaments as the crown of thorns, the three stigmas as the nails and the five anthers as the wounds. This one has opened on a vine climbing a weathered trellis, with a tendril coiled tight nearby. Each bloom lasts only about a day, so the passionflower jigsaw puzzle keeps one open for good.