Aristolochia californica

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Magnoliids
Ordo: Piperales

Familia: Aristolochiaceae
Subfamilia: Aristolochioideae
Genus: Aristolochia
Species: Aristolochia californica
Name

Aristolochia californica Torr., 1857
Synonyms

Isotrema californicum (Torr.) H. Huber

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
Regional: Southwestern USA
USA (California)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Torrey, J., 1857. Pacif. Railr. Rep. 4(5):128.

Links

Hassler, M. 2018. Aristolochia californica. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Dec. 27. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Aristolochia californica. Published online. Accessed: Dec. 27 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Aristolochia californica in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Dec. 27.
Tropicos.org 2018. Aristolochia californica. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Dec. 27.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Aristolochia californica in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Vernacular names
English: California dutchman's pipe

Aristolochia californica, the California pipevine, California Dutchman's-pipe, or California snakeroot[1] is a perennial woody vine of western North America.[2][3]

Distribution

The vine is endemic to northern California.[4] It is native to the Sacramento Valley, northern Sierra Nevada foothills, San Francisco Bay Area, Northern Inner California Coast Ranges, southeastern Klamath Mountains.[2]

The plant grows along riparian streambank areas, in chaparral, oak woodland, and mixed evergreen forest habitats.[2][4][5] It is found below 700 metres (2,300 ft) in elevation.[4]

Description

Aristolochia californica is a deciduous vine.[4] It grows from rhizomes, to a length usually around 5 feet (1.5 m), but can reach over 20 feet (6.1 m).[4] The twining trunk can become quite thick in circumference at maturity.

It sends out new green heart-shaped leaves after it blooms. The bloom period is January through April.[2]

The plant produces large green to pale brown curving pipe-shaped flowers, with purple veins and a yellow to red lining.[4] The U shaped flowers produce winged capsular green fruits.[4]

Pollination

The California pipevine's flowers have a musty unpleasant odor which is attractive to tiny carrion-feeding insects. The insects crawl into the convoluted flowers and often become stuck and disoriented for some time, picking up pollen as they wander. Most eventually escape. The plant is not insectivorous, as was formerly thought. Fungus gnats (Mycetophilidae) may prove to be the effective pollinators. G.L. Stebbins suggested that pollination by deceit is presumed.[6]

California pipevine swallowtail butterfly

The larva of the endemic California pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor hirsuta) relies on the California pipevine as its only food source. The red-spotted black caterpillars consume the leaves of the plants, and then use the flowers as a secure, enclosed place to undergo metamorphosis. The plant contains a toxin which when ingested by the caterpillars makes them unpalatable to predators.[7]
See also

Flora of the California chaparral and woodlands
List of California native plants
Pipevine swallowtail butterflies — nectar sources

References

Michael Moore (1993). Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West.
Calflora: Aristolochia californica
USDA Plants Profile for Aristolochia californica (California dutchman's pipe)
Jepson eFlora (TJM2) Aristolochia californica[permanent dead link]
Encyclopedia of Life: Aristolochia californica; C. Michael Hogan, ed. 2010.
California Native Plant Society Newsletter, "Aristolochia californica," 1971, Vol. 7 p. 4-5.
Cirrusimage.com: Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly — large format reference photographs.