Passiflora trochlearis Jørgensen (1998: 379)

Kuethe, J. R., Cornejo, Xavier, Garzón-Suárez, Henry X., Jiménez, Marco M., Wettges, Martin, Magdalena, Carlos, Mejía-Pazos, Nicanor, Flores, Juan Carlos Espín & Decoux, Jose, 2025, Passionflower trees of Ecuador: revising the presence of Passiflora subg. Astrophea (Passifloraceae) and including resolution to the P. putumayensis and P. macrophylla taxonomic complexes, Phytotaxa 697 (2), pp. 147-165 : 162

8. Passiflora trochlearis Jørgensen (1998: 379) ( Figure 7a )

Type:— ECUADOR. Pichincha: Reserva ENDESA, Quito-Puerto Quito Road at km 113, 650- 800 m, 23 Jan 1987 (fl.), P. JØrgensen 61637 (holotype: QCA 72131 !; isotypes: NY 452404 !, F 0066829 , AAU 144446 !, MO 279945 ) .

Notes:— Passiflora trochlearis is the only other species (opposed to P. tessmannii ) currently known [within Ecuador] to bear a distinct trochlea at the base of the androgynophore. The 2022 expedition identified three populations though sadly the species was not observed in flower. Jørgensen & MacDougal (1997) report on the flower being characteristic for the members of this alliance, carrying 4–5 cm white flowers supplemented by a short (<1.5 cm) yellow corona with purple speckles. It stands out, however, by carrying a bright purple, conical trochlea 0.8–1.2 cm from the base of the androgynophore. Endemic to Ecuador, this species is found only in the western lowlands of the provinces of Pichincha and Santa Domingo. Merely three populations are known, it grows as a robust plant near forest or river edges in riparian seasonally wet forests at elevations between 400 and 800 m above sea level.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Overview of the Ecuadorean Astrophea. All taken within Ecuador.A) P. trochlearis (by Juan C. Espín F.); B) P. skiantha (by Dawson White); C) P. tina (by Xavier Cornejo); D) P. tessmannii (by Henry Garzón-Suarez); E) P. pyrrhantha (by Xavier Cornejo); F) P. spinosa (by Sebastián Vizcarra).