ARISTOLOCHIA PARVIFOLIA

Family and Genus:- See- ARISTOLOCHIACEAE

Common Name:- Small-leaved birthwort

Homotypic Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Aristolochia (Gr) Best-childbirth.

Parvifolia (L) With small leaves.

General description:- Short to medium perennial, hairy at first.

Stems:-

1)10-40 cm, simple or branched, pubescent.

Leaves:-

1) 1-3 cm, ovate-oblong, cordate.

a) petiole, 0·1-1 cm.

Flowers:-

1) 30-60 mm long.

a) tube, short and slightly curved, swollen towards the base.

b) limb, up to twice as long as the tube, greenish-brown, often blotched with a

chocolaty colour.

Fruit:-

1) Capsule, 10-20 mm, spherical.

Key features:-

1) Pedicels, shorter than petioles.

2) Capsule, usually less than 1·5 cm.

3) Flowers, brownish to purplish.

4) Limb, greenish with reddish or violet-brown stripes.

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Habitat:- Rocky places, scrub, fields, hedgerows.

Distribution:- E Aegean Is., Turkey, Cyprus and E. Med. On Crete known only

from the Elounda peninsula E. Crete.

Flowering time:- Dec-June.

Photo by:- Steve Lenton

Comments:-

Contrary to common belief this plant is not carnivorous. Insects attracted by its

smell of rotting meat descend into gaping mouth and down into the bulbous

section, where unable to escape owing to the downward pointing hairs, they

become dusted with pollen. There they remain until the flower begins to die and the

hairs become limp. Released they move onto the next flower and repeat the

process pollinating it in turn.