To me passionflower is the most exquisite and beautiful herb. Its circular, whirling, complex blossom is breathtaking. It’s enchanting and exotic, yet this delightful plant grows very well in Ireland and I have it climbing it’s way around my back garden!
Passionflower has a long history of traditional use. It is a nervine (calm the nerves), hypnotic, antispasmodic, anodyne (pain relief) and hypotensive.
It is perhaps most well known for its calming influence on the nervous system. It is a herb I use almost everyday in the dispensary for anxiety, tension and nervousness.
It is a wonderful remedy for people who get over-stimulated and are highly wound.
I often use it in formulae for insomnia as it eases the transition into restful sleep without any residual effect the following day. It combines beautifully with wood betony and wild lettuce among other nervines and hypnotics to induce relaxation and sleep.
Passionflower helps lower blood pressure and prevent tachycardia. I often combine it with hawthorn in formulas for the heart.
Its calming and anti-spasmodic properties make it a herb of choice for tension and pain. It can be particularly useful for menstrual cramping and PMS, for Parkinson’s disease, and hysteria. I have used it with outstanding results for shingles and trigeminal neuralgia.
Passionflower is an effective and reliable herb, that calms the nervous system considerably as well as rebuilding it.
Cautions: Avoid passionflower in combination with other pharmaceutical sedatives, and do not use if pregnant. Also avoid this herb with low blood pressure. As with all herbs, please remember that every body is unique, and we all respond differently.