The name Passiflora × violacea has yet to be resolved as a correct scientific name;[2] nevertheless it is widely found in the horticultural literature.

It is an evergreen climber growing to 6 m (20 ft) with five-lobed leaves, clinging spiral tendrils, large showy purple flowers with maroon and white filaments, and the prominent stigmas and anthers typical of the genus.

While somewhat hardier than one of its parents, P. racemosa, it is considerably less hardy than the other, P. caerulea (which can be grown outside in warm or coastal areas).

P. × violacea will tolerate temperatures down to −1 °C (30 °F), but in most temperate zones is grown under glass, for instance in an unheated conservatory or greenhouse.

It was subsequently described by Joseph Sabine of the Royal Horticultural Society, then in 1824 by the French botanist Jean-Louis-Auguste Loiseleur-Deslongchamps in the "Herbier General de l'Amateur", giving it its current name.