Daily Sketches – 19. Passiflora

Today tutorial is on drawing Passiflora capsularis, a small, vanilla scented passion flower that grows in tropical areas.

Passiflora is a pentamorous flower, having parts arranged in groups of five: 5 petals, 5 alternating sepals which in most species looks the same as the petals, differing only by a hook at the tip (awn). On the central column we can see 3 stigmas that extend above the ovary and, beneath the stigmas, 5 anthers. The corona is composed of thin filaments, often of bright colours or in contrast with the petals and sepals, they guide pollinators toward the center of the flower. In the center of the flower there is another disk of very small filaments called operculum that hide the nectar. The pollinator must penetrate the operculum barrier to access the nectar, and thus brush against the pollen-laden anthers.

*Passiflora capsularis – flower morphology*

In today’s tutorial I will show you the geometry behind this apparently complex flower and the steps of drawing a typical passion flower seen from above.