Within the series Laurifoliae of subgenus Passiflora, the binomial Passiflora laurifolia L. historically has four synonyms: Granadilla laurifolia; P. oblongifolia Pulle, described from Suriname and known only from the type; P. tinifolia Juss. described from the Island of Cayenne (French Guiana), and P. laurifolia var. tinifolia, considered to be a small fruited variety of P. laurifolia. The more recently described P. gabrielleana Vanderpl. and P. favardensis Kuethe, both from French Guiana, also share many traits with these taxa. Four expeditions to French Guiana, from 2008 to 2017, have shown that P. laurifolia, as described in the last revision of this species, is only represented there by a few cultivated individuals introduced from the West Indies. In contrast, P. gabrielleana is commonly found along rivers and coasts, and in wet ditches, especially on the Island of Cayenne where P. tinifolia was considered to be common by Antoine de Jussieu. Likewise, herbarium and field data show us that P. gabrielleana is also present in neighboring regions of Brazil and Suriname. The very common presence of P. gabrielleana on the locus classicus of P. tinifolia, the absence of spontaneous forms of P. laurifolia in French Guiana, and the many similarities between these species, lead us to resuscitate the name of P. tinifolia and to place P. gabrielleana, P. favardensis, P. oblongifolia and P. laurifolia var. tinifolia as synonyms for this species. Thence, only Granadilla laurifolia is maintained as a synonym of P. laurifolia.
Flora of the Guianas, nomenclature, series Laurifoliae, lectotypification, new synonyms