Aristolochia ringens, Aristolochia galeata
Family: Aristolochiaceae
Dutchman's Pipe
Origin: Brazil, Mexico, Panama
vine or creeper, full sun, semi-shade, moderate water, regular
water, Unusual color, fragrant, attracts butterflies, hummingbirds,
invasive.
Distinctive yet unusual, this great vine produces pipe-like
flowers netted purple and brown it's leaves are light green and
heart shaped. A spectacular show when in bloom! Does tend to have a
very strange odor from the flowers. Very showy! Cream and maroon.
Papery capsule containing many seeds.
Gaping Dutchman's Pipe is a tall, hairless slender twiner, native
to Brazil, but now cultivated throughout the tropical world. Leaves
are stalked, round, almost kidney-shaped, pale green above, glaucous
beneath. On the leaf blade, 5-7 nerves radiate from the base.
Stipules are noticeably leaflike, 2-lobed, kidney-shaped. Flower
stalk is slender, four times as long as the leaf stalk. Flowers,
7-10 inches long, are greenish, marked with dark purple. Flower has
an obovoid sack, 2.5 inches long, woolly inside. The flower tube
ascends obliquely from the sack, dividing into two very long lips.
The two lips give an impression of a gaping mouth. The species name
ringens means snarling in Latin.
Medicinal uses: The roots of this plant are well known as an
antidote for snake bites in New Granada. |
