Aristolochia gigantea

Aristolochia gigantea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Magnoliids
Order:	Piperales
Family:	Aristolochiaceae
Genus:	Aristolochia
Species:	A. gigantea
Binomial name
	Aristolochia gigantea; Mart. & Zucc.

Aristolochia gigantea, the Brazilian Dutchman's pipe or giant pelican flower (syn. Aristolochia sylvicola Standl.), is an ornamental plant native to Brazil, Costa Rica and Panama.^[1] Typical of subtropical Bahia and Minas Gerais vegetation, it is a vigorous evergreen climber (vine) with cordate 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^[2] because the leaves are toxic to the larvae.^[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.^[3] It does not tolerate temperatures below 10 °C (50 °F). It can be grown from seeds or cuttings.