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| Aristolochia fimbriata AKA white-veined Dutchman’s pipe |
Mike is growing this Aristolochia fimbriata, AKA white-veined Dutchman’s pipe in his greenhouse and I think it has a really cool bloom.
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| Aristolochia fimbriata AKA white-veined Dutchman’s pipe |
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| Aristolochia fimbriata AKA white-veined Dutchman’s pipe |
I did some searching and found the following from Cambridge University Botanic Garden.
The solitary flowers arise from the leaf axils and each lasts only 24 hours. The inflated perianth tube is chalky white with pale green veining and it bends right back so that the enlarged lobe, instead of being a hood as in most other species, is in fact a downward pointing, embossed heart-shape in a maroon and green seersucker, edged all around with fine skinny tentacles each dipped in blue ink.
Aristolochias exhibit fascinating pollination mechanisms: the stench attracts insects into the inflated perianth tube which is lined with downward pointing hairs that form an impenetrable forest. The insect is prevented from escaping until the whole flower has collapsed. The insect then emerges covered in pollen to get duped once again and trapped in another flower and effect pollination.
Many Aristolochia species are a food source for pipevine swallowtail butterflies – ingesting the noxious plant tissue confers the disgusting taste to the butterfly, thereby making them less palatable to predators.
I'm going to keep my eye out for pipevine swallowtail butterflies!
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| Look closely and you can see the downward pointing hairs. |
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| Aristolochia fimbriata AKA white-veined Dutchman’s pipe |
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| My thumb for scale. |
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| A future bloom |
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| Possible seed pod |
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| Aristolochia fimbriata AKA white-veined Dutchman’s pipe |
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