/pash"euhn flow'euhr/ , n.
any chiefly American climbing vine or shrub of the genus Passiflora, having showy flowers and a pulpy berry or fruit that in some species is edible.
[ 1605-15; trans. of NL flos passionis flower of the Passion; so named because the parts of the flower were imagined as symbolic of the objects and events of Christ's Passion ]