The heart shaped leaves look like Aristolochia Macrophylla

Thanks, Jolana. That's exactly what we hoped it would be. We saw one two years ago at Rainbow Nursery and it was huge.... and beautiful. When we decided to go back for one.... they were all gone. So, DH ordered some seeds and then, at the Fall swap, someone also gave a small starter plant. They both have the same leaves and we can't wait to see them bloom. Maybe gardening does teach you patience... after all. :-)

Thanks again, Ragna. I had forgotten about the pipevine ID. I've decided to plant the pipevine seeds in the white box. I guess that requires more patience... ya think?

HAHAHA, yes, gardening definitely teaches you patience. I'm so glad you got the vine you wanted.....YEA!

You just need medium patience for the Aristolochia fimbriata seeds. They come up and grow pretty fast. I plant them everywhere! It's a small plant, more of a sprawler than a vine and looks lovely hanging out of pots. If the Pipevine swallowtails find it you'll need a lot of plants, but that's why I grow it ... :-) They eat it down pretty quick, but it is just as quick to put those leaves back on. It's one of my favorite plants!

Here is a link that might be useful: Aristolochia fimbriata ....

"Medium Patience" Now there's is new term for me.... Funny how you live a to be a ripe old age and you never learn about "Medium Patience!" I just might be able to handle that one, lol.

Thanks for all the tips and advice

Rainbow Gardens sometimes carries the giant South American calico pipe vine, Aristolochia elegans. I grew it for several years and loved its huge leaves, and unbelievably big flowers, of which it produced two or three a year, but I got tired of getting up on a ladder and cleaning all the interwoven stems off my arch after it died to the ground in winter. I dug it up one winter to move it or give away, but it didn't survive the digging.

I think Doug would love this one.

However, it is not a host plant for the Pipevine swallowtail. The swallowtail will lay it's eggs on it, but the leaves are toxic to them. I used to collect the eggs when I'd see the pipevine butterfly lay eggs and move them to the A. fimbriata. There is another less common butterfly that can use it as a catterpillar host plant, and several South American butterflies use it in it's native land as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aristolochia elegans ...

This post was edited by roselee on Fri, Jun 27, 14 at 19:02

Maybe it's just me but those flowers remind me something else. Am I the only one?

Omar

O had the Elegans growing in Austin and I never cleaned the vines and it gave me many blossom during the summer. It was pretty quick climbing up it and then the mess disappeared. I am a lazy procrastinating gardener. I would rather talk garden than clean garden.

Thanks, Mara. It's good to hear that you had the Elegans and its growing habits. We'll not rest until we get one, lol. I appreciate the info. We'll go out to the Rainbow Nursery again today. I know when the weather gets too hot, they cut back on their stock. We just waited too long last year.

Funny, '...... rather talk garden than clean garden.' I know what you mean. :-)

I have a different nomenclature for these vines.There is a smaller flowered variety that is more floriferous. I think the smaller calico flowered one is called A. elegans and the larger flowered one that you have pictured above is A. gigantea . They both look very similar.

Link to A. gigantea
http://www.gardenvines.com/shop/other-species-9/aristolochia-gigantea-25.html

Here is a link that might be useful: the A. elegans That I know

This post was edited by wantonamara on Sun, Jun 29, 14 at 0:09

Omar, it reminds me of the Helicodiceros muscivorus that I saw on Plant Delights, which in turn reminds me of ...

Here is a link that might be useful: Pig Butt Arum

Mara, I think you are right. While similar, it's easy to see the difference in the two varieties. I'm glad you knew and pointed that out.

All right. I am not the only one. Thanks!

Omar

Going on leaf shape alone, it could also be a. tomentosa. Aside from the flowers, believe main identifying difference is that the stems of a. tomentosa are hairier than those of a. macrophylla. Ours are fuzzy, but not as pronounced as the photo posted at the link. Don't have a. macrophylla, but am guessing stems are smooth from descriptions and photos. Anybody know if that is right?

Here is a link that might be useful: Aristolochia Tomentosa

I love them all, currently have 3 types. A. fimbriata, A. gigantea, A. elegans. Just put in the A. gigantea this spring after digging it from my Aunts. It can be invasive here so I put it somewhere I can whack it back easily. A. Used to have 4 but lost A.trilobata-my favorite.

Always looking for more types.
Tally Ho!

I have all 4 Tally mentioned. Love trilobata. Blooms look like they're sticking their tongue out at you.

Thanks for all the ID's. Wow.... I never knew there were four different varieties. It's so interesting to see all the different 'favorites.' I'll have to be on the lookout for them at each nursery we visit. Thanks, everyone.

There is way more than 4 varieties. there are native american ones native to central Texas besides some very strange strange strange tropical ones. It is a good sized family of 500..

Here is a link that might be useful: 3 pages of them

Mara, those pages just make me want to grow them all! LOL

There's another very unusual member of the family that only grows in Texas; Aristolochia erecta L. "swanflower. I 'discovered' it's existence when I saw Pipevine swallow tail caterpillars frantically crawling around on the ground at an old country cemetery on the south side of San Antonio.

I looked and looked but couldn't find a pipevine. If I remember correctly I asked on here and it was Linda8 that told me they were eating 'swanflowers', a very small plant with grass like foliage. Amazingly they crawl across the ground going from plant to plant, that's why they were like 'frantic' in their search for another one.

When I returned to the cemetery a few weeks later I never could find the plant among all the short native grasses and sparse weeds that were growing there in the sandy soil.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aristolochia erecta L 'swanflower'

THat is SO weird that you mentioned A. erecta. I was going through some seed boxes this morning and I found a small bag of them and I planted them today. I have no idea where they came from. Probably Linda. keep your fingers crossed. I hope hope hope!