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Aristolochia maxima Jacq.

Florida dutchman's pipe (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Piperales > Aristolochiaceae > Aristolochia

Characteristics

Lianas , twining, to 20 m, woody. Young stem ribbed, strigose. Leaves: petiole 0.1-0.8 cm. Leaf blade obovate, 7-15 × 3-7 cm, base truncate to slightly cordate, sinus depth 0-0.2 cm, apex acuminate; surfaces abaxially strigose; venation palmate-pinnate. Inflorescences on new growth, axillary, solitary flowers or rhipidiate from base of plant; peduncle not bracteolate, 2-2.5 cm. Flowers: calyx brown-purple, bent; utricle horizontal, ovoid, 2-3.5 × 1 cm; syrinx absent; tube upright, funnel-shaped, 1-3 cm; annulus absent; limb dark purple, 1-lobed, lobe ovate, 1-6 × 1 cm, glabrous; gynostemium 6-lobed, crown-shaped, 5-10 mm; anthers 6; ovary 6-locular, 2-2.5 cm. Capsule ovoid, 10-15 × 4-7 cm, dehiscence acropetal; valves 6; septa persistent, clathrate. Seeds flat, triangular, 1-1.5 × 1.5 cm.
More
Twining, scandent lianas. Leaves alternate, spiral, oblong-spatulate, apex acute to obtuse, sometimes minutely mu-cronate, base truncate to shallowly sub-cordate, 4 to 8 cm. broad, 10 to 20 cm. long, glabrous. Pseudostipules absent. Flowers in clustered racemes with reduced leaves, purple-brown, the utricle ovoid, ca. 3 cm. long, narrowing abruptly into the recurved tube, ca. 1 cm. long, which gradually widens into the strongly reflexed limb, ca. 3 cm. long. Fruit ovate-cylindric, ca. 15 cm. long, 7 cm. wide, dehiscing acropetally. Seeds numerous, horizontally compressed, 1.2 cm. diameter, 3 mm. thick.
A woody vine. It can grow 20 m long. The leaves large and rounded and are wedge shaped at the base. The flowers are brownish-purple. They can be 25 cm long. The fruit are seed capsules 12 cm long.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support climber
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 7.7 - 10.2
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a tropical plant. It is often on limestone soils.
Light 4-9
Soil humidity 3-6
Soil texture 3-4
Soil acidity 3-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use Antirheumatic agents (root), Sexually transmitted diseases (root), Alexiteric (unspecified), Bite(Snake) (unspecified), Cancer (unspecified), Stimulant (unspecified), Typhoid (unspecified), Medicine (unspecified), Carminative (unspecified), Sialogogue (unspecified), Sternutatory (unspecified), Sudorific (unspecified), Tumor (unspecified), Neuralgia (unspecified), Spasm (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 30 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°) 23 - 29
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment soaking
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Flower

Aristolochia maxima flower picture by Rivera Gerardo (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Aristolochia maxima world distribution map, present in Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Martinique, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, El Salvador, United States of America, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:316426-2
WFO ID wfo-0000548053
COL ID GQ2M
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 629109
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Howardia golmerii Howardia hoffmannii Howardia maxima Aristolochia biflora Aristolochia geminiflora Aristolochia maxima Aristolochia oblongifolia Howardia geminiflora Aristolochia mexicana Aristolochia reticulata Aristolochia maxima var. angustifolia Aristolochia maxima var. geminiflora Howardia gollmeri Aristolochia maxima var. maxima
WorldFloraDB 2024