Biology:Aristolochia watsonii
| Aristolochia watsonii | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Piperales |
| Family: | Aristolochiaceae |
| Genus: | Aristolochia |
| Species: | A. watsonii
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| Binomial name | |
| Aristolochia watsonii Wooton & Standl.[1]
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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Aristolochia watsonii (Watson's Dutchman's pipe, southwestern pipevine, Indian root, snakeroot) is a perennial plant[2] in the birthwort family (Aristolochiaceae), found growing among plants of the Arizona Uplands in the Sonoran Desert.[3]:138 The plant is inconspicuous,[3]:138 small and hard to spot, but can be found by following the pipevine swallowtail (blue swallowtail, Battus philenor) which lays eggs on it.[2]
Description
Growth pattern
It grows as vine with scrambling stems that create a dense, tangled mat over the years when growing on open ground.[2][3]:138
Roots, stems, and leaves
According to one source, stems are 150 to 450 mm (6 to 18 in) long, with greenish-brown arrowhead-shaped 5 to 65 mm (1⁄4 to 2 1⁄2 in) leaves.[3]:138 Another source states stems can reach 0.9 m (3 ft), in dense mats that are 0.3 to 0.6 m (1 to 2 ft) wide.[2] It drops its leaves in the fall and winter (cold-deciduous), and loses stems as well as leaves in a freeze.[2] In full sun and drought conditions, leaves turn from green to purple-brown.[2]
Inflorescence and fruit
It has "bizarre" looking, musky-smelling flowers, which resemble the ear of a rodent.[3]:138 It blooms from April to October. 25 to 40 mm (1 to 1 1⁄2 in) flowers are shaped like a rodent's ear[2][3]:138 are green or burgundy-brown outside to the ear rim, then green speckled with burgundy-brown inside, with hairs on the opening ear rim.[3]:138 Flowers last 1–2 days.[2]
Fruits are capsules having five vertical ribs with triangular-shaped flat and black seeds in each of five compartments.[2]
Ecological interactions
Flowers shaped and smelling like a rodent's ear attract small blood-sucking flies, which are deceived by the appearance and odor and get trapped in the convoluted flower form for a day, then escape to pollinate another plant.[2][3]:138 It attracts the pipevine swallowtail,[4] and is where the butterfly gets its distasteful toxins that protect the butterfly from predation.[2] The caterpillar may eat all of the leaves on a plant, but they then grow back.[2]
Toxicity
All parts of this plant are toxic to humans.[2][5]
Habitat and Distribution
It is found from Arizona to western Texas , in mountains at elevations from 600 to 1,400 m (2,000 to 4,500 ft).[3]:138
Human use
Native Americans believed it could be used to treat snakebites, hence its common names Indian root[citation needed] or snakeroot.[3]:138 It is currently found in some nurseries that feature native plants as it is a good landscape plant in a butterfly garden.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Aristolochia watsonii Wooton & Standl.". The Plant List. Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew). http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/2652017. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 Aristolochia watsonii: Watson's Dutchman's Pipe / Desert Pipevine, Garden Oracle, Gardening in Tucson, Phoenix, and the Desert Southwest, [1]
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Sonoran Desert Wildflowers, Richard Spellenberg, 2nd ed., 2012, ISBN:9780762773688
- ↑ Naturewide Images, Robert A. Behrstock, ATTRACTING WILDLIFE I
- ↑ "Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor, Fairfax County Public Schools". http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/pipevine_swallowtail.htm.
- ↑ Soule, J.A. 2011. Butterfly Gardening in Southern Arizona. Tierra del Sol Press.
External links
Wikidata ☰ Q15465972 entry
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