Aristolochia watsonii
Species of vine
| Aristolochia watsonii | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Piperales |
| Family: | Aristolochiaceae |
| Genus: | Aristolochia |
| Species: | A. watsonii |
| Binomial name | |
| Aristolochia watsonii Wooton & Standl.[1] | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Aristolochia watsonii (Watson's Dutchman's pipe, southwestern pipevine, Indian root, snakeroot) is a perennial plant[2] in the birthwort family (Aristolochiaceae), found growing among plants of the Arizona Uplands in the Sonoran Desert.[3]: 138 The plant is inconspicuous,[3]: 138 small and hard to spot, but can be found by following the pipevine swallowtail (blue swallowtail, Battus philenor) which lays eggs on it.[2]
Description
Growth pattern
It grows as vine with scrambling stems that create a dense, tangled mat over the years when growing on open ground.[2][3]: 138
Roots, stems, and leaves
According to one source, stems are 150 to 450 mm (6 to 18 in) long, with greenish-brown arrowhead-shaped 5 to 65 mm (1⁄4 to 2+1⁄2 in) leaves.[3]: 138 Another source states stems can reach 0.9 m (3 ft), in dense mats that are 0.3 to 0.6 m (1 to 2 ft) wide.[2] It drops its leaves in the fall and winter (cold-deciduous), and loses stems as well as leaves in a freeze.[2] In full sun and drought conditions, leaves turn from green to purple-brown.[2]
Inflorescence and fruit
It has "bizarre" looking, musky-smelling flowers, which resemble the ear of a rodent.[3]: 138 It blooms from April to October. 25 to 40 mm (1 to 1+1⁄2 in) flowers are shaped like a rodent's ear[2][3]: 138 are green or burgundy-brown outside to the ear rim, then green speckled with burgundy-brown inside, with hairs on the opening ear rim.[3]: 138 Flowers last 1–2 days.[2]
Fruits are capsules having five vertical ribs with triangular-shaped flat and black seeds in each of five compartments.[2]
Ecological interactions
Flowers shaped and smelling like a rodent's ear attract small blood-sucking flies, which are deceived by the appearance and odor and get trapped in the convoluted flower form for a day, then escape to pollinate another plant.[2][3]: 138 It attracts the pipevine swallowtail,[4] and is where the butterfly gets its distasteful toxins that protect the butterfly from predation.[2] The caterpillar may eat all of the leaves on a plant, but they then grow back.[2]
Toxicity
All parts of this plant are toxic to humans.[2][5]
Habitat and Distribution
It is found from Arizona to western Texas, in mountains at elevations from 600 to 1,400 m (2,000 to 4,500 ft).[3]: 138
Human use
Native Americans believed it could be used to treat snakebites, hence its common names Indian root[citation needed] or snakeroot.[3]: 138 It is currently found in some nurseries that feature native plants as it is a good landscape plant in a butterfly garden.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Aristolochia watsonii Wooton & Standl.". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 28 August 2014 – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Aristolochia watsonii: Watson's Dutchman's Pipe / Desert Pipevine, Garden Oracle, Gardening in Tucson, Phoenix, and the Desert Southwest, [1] Archived 2014-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sonoran Desert Wildflowers, Richard Spellenberg, 2nd ed., 2012, ISBN 9780762773688
- ^ Naturewide Images, Robert A. Behrstock, ATTRACTING WILDLIFE I
- ^ "Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor, Fairfax County Public Schools". Archived from the original on 2014-06-23. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
- ^ Soule, J.A. 2011. Butterfly Gardening in Southern Arizona. Tierra del Sol Press.
External links
- Three images of "Pipevine (Aristolochia watsonii), here in flower", "Eggs of the Pipevine Swallowtail on Aristolochia watsonii", and "A large Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar that's about ready to pupate munches on Pipevine"
