Aristolochia (sp.?) ID?

Can anyone identify this genus of Aristolochia? It happily volunteered itself to my garden, appears to be a creeper/ground cover rather than a climber. I also have an A. littoralis and the leaves are almost identical, but the flowers are dramatically different plus the littoralis is a climber.

The flowers in this image are quite small...with just a hint of stinkyness. I thought perhaps it might be some type of fibriata but don't know and don't find a photo of a fibriata flower that matches...also the leaves are not white veined. Already there is a caterpillar which is similar to the Battus polydamas caterpillars, but not quite. i looked extensively and am coming up empty. I am in southwestern Mexico. Any ideas? Thanks!

Hi,

Here's a link to a website called Phytoimages. http://131.230.176.4/index.html
Happy searching...
Alileo

Thanks very much Alileo...I was beginning to think i would never find the species (i mistakenly said "genus" in my post...so it is good to have a place where i can look that i haven't looked before. regards, vitrsna

Vitrsna? Did you ever get a name for this pipe vine?

No Fla i never did. The research seems like it was so long ago...i'am sure i must have notes somewhere. I did narrow it down to 2 possibles which grow wild in Colima. If i can ever find the paper i wrote those names on, i will let you know. The research stopped there, because i wasn't able to find photos on the internet of the 2 most likely possibilities. There are over 800 species of Aristolochia so that doesn't help much and for many of the species there are no photos available online (that i found). I wrote and sent my photo to a few dozen people and never received one response :). I wrote to experts in Brazilian universities, an expert at a Columbian university, as well as one in Mexico City, as well as a few dozen other places in the US and UK.

What i do know now is that this Aristolochia will clump, run, and climb...a real all around athlete and it will attract hoards of Polydamas Swallowtails that will lay eggs every week until the largest vine is exhausted. At the present time, i have a few dozen Polydamas butterflies that have been in diapause for close to a year...not because it gets cold here but because they must be waiting for a renewed host plant. :)

Wow that's incredible that no one HERE has been able to help you in this!
I am sorry I am at a loss for any information as well.
Getting help from Botanical Gardens sometimes is hit and miss as you have already experienced.
Sometimes they just don't know the answer and it is just beyond them to admit it and send you a note saying just that "I don't know"...it would be nice if they would at least give you a direction instead of letting you flying blind like a bat...LOL
I looked to see if there was a Aristolochia society...to my dismay "There was NOT"!

Maybe this bump will get some attention again and new eyes to look at it...maybe if you have a few more pictures to show different angles of the flower a pic of the whole plant maybe that might help? Just a thought is all.

I'll keep looking as well

Well, thank you Fla, but it is not important to me at this time. I did get it down to two probable species but just didn't have the the photos to verify. I got close enough and have moved on to other plant adventures. Whatever the species name, i know it is native and that is enough for me. At the time, i think i was sending out some of the seeds to people who wanted them and i wanted the recipients to have the species name...that was a year ago. This is another year and a whole new set of questions. :)

Yes, I was one of those people whom got some of those seeds...thanks
I have a few here doing well but not flowered as of yet. I noticed it likes being grounded better than potted, I put one in a hanging basket in hopes that when it bloomed the flowers would be more visible, but no luck either way for flowers probably not old enough yet.

Ok I'll let you be for your onward gardening adventures...thanks again

Do you think it might be A.wrightii or A.watsonii? Both like to grow on north facing shelter for extra moisture along the Rio Grande Valley

I'm not sure W. Do you have photos of either or both these vines? Gee, it's been 2 years since i researched this. I came up with two possibilities (both native to the Colima area), but could not find photos of either. I eliminated many because i was able to check them against photos i found mostly online. I don't remember what the last two were and i may have kept notes but have no idea where those notes might be now. Because there were not pictures or people to verify, i figured i had come to a dead end and moved on. I found two people at universities who specialize in Aristolochias and wrote to both; one in Brazil, one in Columbia South America but didn't receive responses. I call it the "stinky wild native aristolochia". :-)

I know I have seen this specie on the Aristolochia Facebook page, you should join and post the pic, within an hour someone should tell you :)

I will join facebook when i see pigs fly in formation...thanks for the advice though Wf.

do you have a different angle shot of the flower?

Posted you picture on the aristolochia international Facebook forum. Aristolochia arcuata look like a match?

The flower is similar but the arcuata seems to have a bolder pattern on the outside of the flower. Also the leaves of the arcuata are elongated. The leaves of my plant are much more rounded. I think not arcuata.

You got extra seeds? :D I know that one time I looked thru the UNINAM herbarium and about 1/4 of the listed species have absolutely no images like Aristolochia mexicana. More pictures would be good.

There are over 800 species and more than likely many species that have not been discovered yet, particularly in Brazil. That was my problem when i was trying to get an id on the volunteer that came up in my garden one day. There are so many species with no photos available on the internet.

I have stopped growing aristolochia. I had mountains of these plants in my garden and attracted thousands of Polydamas Swallowtail butterflies year-round. This area is a major breeding ground for these butterflies. I am happy i got to know them in all their forms and they still come for the nectar plants...but not in the thousands. The caterpillars are as tough (not to mention adorable) as they come and so are the butterflies and their life force is nothing less than awe-inspiring. The survival rate...incredible I did not have enough space for them. In addition to just having plant material for the caterpillars to eat, they need enough space/habitat for optimal survival rates. More space to roam and hide from predators. A year or two ago i gave my plants to a neighbor who has a rancho here in Colima that is dedicated to wild life of all kinds, especially birds and butterflies. Now these truly wild Polydamas Swallowtails have a much larger and healthier environment in which to reproduce.

During the time i was growing this particular Aristolochia, i sent many seeds out to DGers in the US, so you might try grazing the trade lists here. If you don't find the seeds available, A. fibriata or A. odoratissima are widely available and should work just as well. Good luck with your search.