The Passion flower is the Passion of Christ. Its 10 petals are the 10 faithful apostle and its radial filaments are the Crown of Thorns. There are a lot of additional layers of symmetry to story of Jesus in this flower such as the number 3 related to the days of flowering, stigmas and its heavenly colour blue. It also resembles a clock and is known as a clock flower in Greek, Hebrew and Japanese - ρολογιά, שעונית and 時計草 tokeisō - clock plant. In Turkey it is a çarkıfelek, Wheel of Fortune, reminiscent of the Tarot. In India it is sometimes known as a कृष्णकमळ Krishna kamala for its blue colour, or a Panch Pandav - referring to the 5 Pandava brothers in the Mahabharata. Stinky, passionate, fruity, curly, timely, lovely. What is it called in your language?
The noble Italian Frangipani family gave their name to this plumeria plant, itself named after 17th century botanist monk Charles Plumier who 'discovered' it. Of course, it was already well-known and sacred across much of the world, such as in Southeast Asia where it features in art and temple reliefs and among the Maya and Aztec people where it has been known for millennia and represented life and fertility. In Polynesian cultures it is used for making flower garlands or leis. It is known as গোলোক চাঁপা champaka and you may have smelled it in incense before. Its white colour is also associated with death in Indian cultures - yet also given at temple offerings and weddings and feature in Swahili love poetry. One simple flower - many complex uses. When there is simplicity, we look for quality - the blending of the yellow into the white, and the decisiveness of the lines of the beautiful 5 petals.
The above 2 images are by Marianne North (gallery at Kew Gardens).
