A friend gave me a cutting of this vine. It has heart-shaped leaves and flowers that open from pod-like structures to somewhat resemble a white and maroon-spotted orchid. It seems to like partial shade. She didn't know what it was either. It's happy growing along my wall in Kona.
yes, it looks like aristolochia elegans although i can't see the leaves very well. are they heart-shaped? this is a host plant for polydamas swallowtail butterflies, pipevine swallowtails, and a few other swallowtails whose caterpillars feed on aristolochia. there are somewhere between 500 - 700 species of aristolochias so sometimes identifying the species can be difficult. by the way, the plant and seeds have a high toxicity content so don't eat the leaves, flowers, or seeds and it is best to wash your hands after handling the plant especially as in collecting seeds.
whoops! i see you have mentioned heart-shaped leaves so it is probably an A. elegans although all the aristolochias i know have heart-shaped leaves.
Thank you all; that is indeed what the plant is.
