DUTCHMAN'S PIPE. PIPE-VINE.
Aristolochia Californica, Torr. Birthwort Family.
Stem.—Woody; climbing. Leaves.—Alternate; short-petioled; large; ovate-cordate, two to four inches long. Flowers.—Greenish, veined with purple. Perianth.—Pipe-shaped; the lobes of the lip leather-colored within. Anthers.—Six; sessile; adnate in pairs to the thick style under the broad lobes of the stigma; vertical. Stigma.—Three-lobed. Ovary.—Inferior; six-angled; six-celled. Fruit.—A large, leathery pod two inches long. Hab.—The Coast Ranges, from Monterey to Marin County.
This odd flower is found rather sparingly in our middle Coast Ranges from February to April, and in some parts of the Sierra foothills, reaching even to the Yosemite. As it flowers before the large leaves come out, and the blossoms are much like dead leaves in color, it requires keen eyes to find it. It usually grows on low ground, in a tangle of shrubs under the trees, often festooning gracefully from branch to branch. Before the flowers are fully open, the buds resemble ugly little brown ducks hanging from the vine.
The common blue-black butterfly is often seen hovering over this vine, and it is said that its caterpillar is so fond of the fruit that it rarely permits one to ripen.
Later in the season, the large cordate leaves are quite conspicuous, and cause people to wonder what may have been the flower of so fine a vine.