Aristolochia gigantea

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Aristolochia gigantea
Aristolochia gigantea-IMG 5523.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Magnoliids
Order: Piperales
Family: Aristolochiaceae
Genus: Aristolochia
Species:
A. gigantea
Binomial name
Aristolochia gigantea

Aristolochia gigantea, the Brazilian Dutchman's pipe or giant pelican flower (syn. Aristolochia sylvicola Standl. ), is an ornamental plant native to Brazil. Typical of subtropical Bahia and Minas Gerais vegetation, it is a vigorous evergreen climber (vine) with heart-shaped leaves and spectacular fragrant flowers. This plant is cited in Flora Brasiliensis by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius. A. gigantea and other tropical Dutchman's pipe varieties pose a threat to the pipevine swallowtail butterfly. The butterfly confuses A. gigantea with its native host plant and will lay eggs on it although pipevine swallowtail caterpillars cannot survive on the foliage. [1]

In cultivation in the UK - where it must be grown under glass - this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. [2] It does not tolerate temperatures below 10 °C (50 °F). It can be grown from seeds or cuttings.

Related Research Articles

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The Aristolochiaceae are a family, the birthwort family, of flowering plants with seven genera and about 400 known species belonging to the order Piperales. The type genus is Aristolochia L.

<i>Hibiscus rosa-sinensis</i> Species of flowering plant in the mallow family Malvaceae

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, known colloquially as Chinese hibiscus, China rose, Hawaiian hibiscus, rose mallow and shoeblack plant, is a species of tropical hibiscus, a flowering plant in the Hibisceae tribe of the family Malvaceae. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in the tropics and subtropics, but its native range is Vanuatu.

<i>Aristolochia</i> Genus of plants in the family Aristolochiaceae

Aristolochia is a large plant genus with over 500 species that is the type genus of the family Aristolochiaceae. Its members are commonly known as birthwort, pipevine or Dutchman's pipe and are widespread and occur in the most diverse climates. Some species, like A. utriformis and A. westlandii, are threatened with extinction.

Dutchman's pipe is a common name for some unrelated flowering plants, which have flowers, inflorescences or stems resembling a pipe:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troidini</span> Tribe of butterflies

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<i>Aristolochia californica</i> Species of flowering plant

Aristolochia californica, the California pipevine, California Dutchman's-pipe, or California snakeroot is a perennial woody vine of western North America.

<i>Battus philenor</i> Species of butterfly

Battus philenor, the pipevine swallowtail or blue swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly found in North America and Central America. This butterfly is black with iridescent-blue hindwings. They are found in many different habitats, but are most commonly found in forests. Caterpillars are often black or red, and feed on compatible plants of the genus Aristolochia. They are known for sequestering acids from the plants they feed on in order to defend themselves from predators by being poisonous when consumed. The adults feed on the nectar of a variety of flowers. Some species of Aristolochia are toxic to the larvae, typically tropical varieties. While enthusiasts have led citizen efforts to conserve pipevine swallowtails in their neighborhoods on the West coast, the butterfly has not been the subject of a formal program in conservation or protected in legislation. The butterfly is however of "Special Concern" in Michigan, which is on the Northern limit of its range.

<i>Ornithoptera euphorion</i> Species of birdwing butterfly

Ornithoptera euphorion, the Cairns birdwing, is a species of birdwing butterfly endemic to Queensland, and is Australia's largest endemic butterfly species. Other common names include Cooktown birdwing and northern birdwing. The names Cairns and Cooktown in its common name reference the Australian cities in the region where this butterfly is found.

<i>Aristolochia littoralis</i> Species of vine

Aristolochia littoralis, the calico flower or مورپنکھ بیل or elegant Dutchman's pipe, is a species of evergreen vine belonging to the family Aristolochiaceae.

<i>Ipomoea lobata</i> Species of flowering plant

Ipomoea lobata, the fire vine, firecracker vine or Spanish flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae, native to Mexico and Brazil.

<i>Ornithoptera richmondia</i> Species of birdwing butterfly

Ornithoptera richmondia, the Richmond birdwing, is a species of birdwing butterfly that is endemic to Australia. It is the second smallest of the birdwing species, the smallest being Ornithoptera meridionalis.

<i>Verbena bonariensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Verbena bonariensis, the purpletop vervain, clustertop vervain, Argentinian vervain, tall verbena or pretty verbena, is a member of the verbena family cultivated as a flowering annual or herbaceous perennial plant. In USA horticulture, it is also known by the ambiguous names purpletop and South American vervain. For the misapplication "Brazilian verbena" see below.

<i>Aristolochia grandiflora</i> Species of vine

Aristolochia grandiflora, the pelican flower, is a deciduous vine with one of the world's largest flowers that emits an odor that smells like rotting meat, attracting flies.

A. gigantea may refer to:

<i>Battus crassus</i> Species of butterfly

Battus crassus, the Crassus swallowtail, is a species of butterfly from the family Papilionidae.

<i>Aristolochia serpentaria</i> Species of vine

Aristolochia serpentaria is a species of perennial flowering plant in the Aristolochiaceae (birthwort) family. The species is commonly known as Virginia snakeroot and is native to eastern North America, from Connecticut to southern Michigan and south to Texas and Florida.

<i>Battus philenor hirsuta</i> Subspecies of butterfly

Battus philenor hirsuta, the California pipevine swallowtail or hairy pipevine swallowtail, is a subspecies of the pipevine swallowtail that is endemic to Northern California in the United States. The butterfly is black with hindwings that have iridescent green-blue coloring above and a row of red spots below; the caterpillars are black with fleshy protrusions and orange spots. The subspecies' butterflies are smaller in size and hairier than the species, and they lay eggs in larger clutch sizes than the species. The egg clutches are deposited on the shoot tips of the California pipevine, a perennial vine native to riparian, chaparral, and woodland ecosystems of the California Coast Ranges, Sacramento Valley, and Sierra Nevada foothills. The larvae feed exclusively on the foliage and shoot tips of the pipevine, although adults eat floral nectar from a variety of plants. The plant contains a toxic substance, aristolochic acid. The larvae sequester the toxin, and both the juvenile and adult butterflies have high and toxic concentrations of the aristolochic acid in their tissues. Throughout the range of the species, Battus philenor, other butterflies and moths mimic the distinctive coloration of the swallowtail to avoid predators. However, there are no known mimics of the Californian subspecies.

Aristolochia watsonii is a perennial plant in the birthwort family (Aristolochiaceae), found growing among plants of the Arizona Uplands in the Sonoran Desert. The plant is inconspicuous, small and hard to spot, but can be found by following the pipevine swallowtail which lays eggs on it.

<i>Aristolochia macrophylla</i> Species of vine

Aristolochia macrophylla, Dutchman's pipe or pipevine, is a perennial vine native to the eastern United States. A. macrophylla belongs to the plant family Aristolochiaceae and is found primarily along the Cumberland Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains in the eastern portion of the United States, as well as Ontario, Canada. This species of plant has received considerable attention in the past few decades for the discovery of a potent compound called aristolochic acid, which has been the focus of debate due its harmful side effects.

<i>Aristolochia reticulata</i> Species of vine

Aristolochia reticulata, the Red River snakeroot, Texas Dutchman's pipe, or Texas pipevine, is a species of perennial herb in the family Aristolochiaceae, and endemic to Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. Its habit is erect to sprawling, up to 0.4 meters in height. It flowers in summer and late spring, and summer and grows in moist, sandy soils.

References

  1. "Aristolochia gigantia: A Death Sentence for Pipevine Swallowtails" by Guest Photographer, June 8. http://www.monarchbutterflygarden.net/aristolochia-gigantea-kills-pipevine-swallowtails/
  2. "RHS Plantfinder - Aristolochia gigantea". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 12 January 2018.