Not a morning glory -- ID'd as Aristolochia baetica by Hilary & Pallas

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Pallas

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In my bamboo hedge (yes, I know. It came with the house), there was a twining vine which I always unthinkingly ripped out when I saw it getting too frisky. I just assumed it was a morning glory, so I never looked at it too closely.

But the other day, there were round-oval, slightly ribbed seed pods on the vine, about 3 to 4cm in diameter: so, not a morning glory after all. So I've kept an eye on it and yesterday took the attached 3 photos. It's lovely: a dark red-purple, vase-shaped flower, like an orchid or one of the carnivorous plants, heart-shaped leaves. Stupidly, I didn't take photos of the seed pods.

Can anyone identify it?
« Last Edit: May 11, 2017, 08:47:26 AM by Alisdair »
Small (300m2) south-facing garden on the outskirts of Málaga. RHS H2 / USDA 10b.

Hilary

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Re: Not a morning glory -- but what is it?
« Reply #1 on: May 04, 2017, 04:58:21 AM »
Hi Pallas,
I am not an expert on plant identifications and have never seen your mystery plant but it looks like something called Dutchman's pipe. I expect the experts are gallivanting on Sardinia at the moment
Hilary
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Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Pallas

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Re: Not a morning glory -- but what is it?
« Reply #2 on: May 04, 2017, 09:29:51 AM »
What a gloriously evocative name! A quick internet picture search for Dutchman's pipe shows that it could indeed be Aristolochia baetica -- Baetica being the Roman name for Andalucia which seems quite conclusive. Thank you very much, Hilary.

There are some real whoppers in Aristolochia -- some apparently reach 75 feet (I am metric, but that sounds LARGE!) -- and although not actually carnivorous, they give off a rotting meat scent (not in evidence, I am glad to say) to attract pollinators, which they imprison overnight and then allow to go their merry way.

A. baetica gets to about 4 metres, which is manageable and the flowers are lovely, so no more ripping out!




Small (300m2) south-facing garden on the outskirts of Málaga. RHS H2 / USDA 10b.

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Fleur Pavlidis

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http://www.mgsforum.org/smf/index.php?topic=105.msg232#msg232 is a whole thread on this interesting genus.
MGS member, Greece. I garden in Attica, Greece and Mt Goulinas (450m) Central Greece