Aristolochia elegans
(elegant Dutchman’s pipe)

Preferred Scientific Name

• Aristolochia elegans Mast.

Preferred Common Name

• elegant Dutchman’s pipe

Other Scientific Names

• Aristolochia littoralis sensu Pfeifer, non Parodi

International Common Names

• English: calico flower; Dutchman’s pipe vine; Dutchman's pipe; pipe vine
• Spanish: patito
• Chinese: ma dou ling shu

Local Common Names

• Brazil: jarrinha-pintada
• Cook Islands: mokora
• Cuba: flor de pato; patico
• Dominican Republic: flor de cisne; flor de pato; patico; pato
• Germany: Strand-Pfeifenwinde
• Haiti: fleur cygne
• Lesser Antilles: duck vine
• Mexico: guaco-ak
• Tonga: fue paipa holani
• USA/Hawaii: birthwort; calico flower

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Aristolochiales
•                         Family: Aristolochiaceae
•                             Genus: Aristolochia
•                                 Species: Aristolochia elegans

The type genus of the family Aristolochiaceae, Aristolochia is a tropical genus of about 350 species, mostly herbaceous or woody vines, less frequently herbs or shrubs, with greatest diversity of species in Central and South America (Mesler and Lu, 1993; Kiew, 1999; Acevedo-Rodriguez, 2005; Wagner et al., 2015). The name Aristolochia is derived from the Greek words ‘aristos’ meaning ‘best’, and ‘locheia’ meaning ‘birth’, in reference to the Greeks’ use of the plants in childbirth, and from this reference came the common name for the genus, ‘birthwort’ (Melser and Lu, 1993).

The Plant List (2013) lists A. elegans as a synonym of Aristolochia littoralis Parodi. Other databases including USDA-ARS (2015), USDA-NRCS (2015) and PIER (2015) have A. elegans as a preferred name and Aristolochia littoralis auct. as a synonym. Gonzalez (1990) considers Aristolochia elegans Mast. and A. littoralis Parodi to be separate species, with A. littoralis endemic to Argentina and usage of the name A. littoralis outside Argentina an error referring to A. elegans (Pedro Acevedo-Rodriguez, personal communication). For the purposes of this datasheet, invasive records listed as A. littoralis (e.g. Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013) are treated as referring to A. elegans. Weeds of Australia (2015) treats these two names as synonyms with A. elegans as the preferred name, and a weed risk assessment of A. elegans for Biosecurity Queensland uses data published on A. littoralis towards the risk assessment.

The common name Dutchman’s pipe refers to the showy flowers, which are shaped like a traditional Dutch pipe.
 

The following description comes from Acevedo-Rodriguez (2005):

Woody vine, twining, attaining 7 m in length. Stems glabrous, cylindrical. Leaves alternate; blades 7-9 × 6-10 cm, reniform or broadly ovate, chartaceous, the venation palmate, the apex obtuse or rounded, the base cordiform, the margins entire; upper surface glabrous, shiny; lower surface with prominent venation, glaucous; petioles 1-3 cm long, glabrous; pseudostipules reniform, 1-1.5 cm long, amplexicaulous. Flowers solitary, pendulous; peduncle ca. 5 cm long; utricle ellipsoid-cylindrical, ca. 3 cm long, the tube 2.5-3.5 cm long, curved at the base, ascending, the limb asymmetrically peltate, crateriform, the lower margin retuse, 5-7 cm in diameter, light green or cream-coloured with a cardinal red reticulum. Capsule cylindrical with 5 longitudinal ribs, 5-6 cm long; seeds membranaceous, triangular or ovate, 6-7 mm long. 

A. elegans is native to South America, and has been widely introduced to other tropical regions, naturalized, and in some regions such as Asia-Pacific, become invasive (PIER, 2015; USDA-ARS, 2015). Date of introduction to the West Indies is uncertain; it was not included in Macfadyen’s (1837) flora of Jamaica or Bello’s (1881; 1883) work on Puerto Rico, but by 1918 it was reportedly ‘occasionally planted’ in Bermuda (Britton, 1918). As of 2005 the species was still considered an uncommon species outside of cultivation in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands (Acevedo-Rodriguez, 2005), but it is increasingly present in the area and is now considered invasive in Cuba (Oviedo-Prieto et al., 2012). 

Soil drainage

• free

Soil texture

• medium

Natural Dispersal

The seeds are small and flat, c. 6 mm long (Wagner et al., 2015). Seeds are borne in dehiscent capsules that split upon maturity, and as the seeds are winged they are easily dispersed by the wind. They are small and lightweight, and so may also be dispersed by water (Starr et al., 2003).

Vector Transmission (Biotic)

The roots are used by humans in traditional medicine. Animals have been known to ingest the toxic leaves of Aristolochia, but no information has been found regarding consumption of the vine’s fruits.

Accidental Introduction

The species is capable of regenerating vegetatively (Bailey and Bailey, 1976; Starr et al., 2003), and may be dispersed by soil if any roots or cuttings are accidentally transported through soil that may be attached to the bottoms of vehicles or shoes, for example. The propagules are also reportedly likely to disperse as a produce contaminant (PIER, 2015).

Intentional Introduction

The species has been introduced beyond its native South America to other tropical regions for cultivation as an ornamental. It is known to have escaped into the wild in at least Florida, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and South Africa (Liogier and Martorell, 2000; Acevedo-Rodriguez and Strong, 2012; Randall, 2012).

Impact on Habitats

This species is a climbing vine which grows and spreads its seeds quickly, smothers native flora and reduces local biodiversity, and is considered one of the worst 50 invasive species of Queensland, Australia (Weeds of Australia, 2015). This species poses an overall negative environmental impact on non-native environments.

Impact on Biodiversity

Several Aristolochia species including A. ringens and A. elegans that have been introduced to Australia now threaten the Richmond birdwing butterfly Ornithopterarichmondia, which mistakenly lays its eggs on these plants instead of its sole foodplant, Pararistolochia praevenosa; the larvae are then poisoned by the toxic leaves, resulting in such a decline of population that the Richmond birdwing is now extinct in over two thirds of its range (Sands and Scott, 2002; Sands and New, 2013; Weeds of Australia, 2015). Removal of A. elegans is one of the primary strategies of the Richmond Birdwing Recovery Network (Weeds of Australia, 2015).

As a rapid-growing, climbing vine, A. elegans has a negative impact on biodiversity by outcompeting and smothering native flora (Sands and Scott, 2002; Starr et al., 2003; Sands and New, 2013; Weeds of Australia, 2015).

The species is used by humans in traditional medicine, but it is also linked with carcinogenic  effects (Debelle et al., 2008; Michl et al., 2013). The species is known to be toxic to animals and butterflies (Sands and New, 2013; PIER, 2015; Weeds of Australia, 2015).

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Has propagules that can remain viable for more than one year

• Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
• Negatively impacts human health
• Negatively impacts animal health
• Reduced native biodiversity
• Threat to/ loss of native species

• Competition - smothering
• Poisoning

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately
• Difficult to identify/detect as a commodity contaminant

The use of various Aristolochia species as an alexiteric has been known since antiquity; its use for snake bites was praised by Theophrastus, Cicero, and Pliny, and it was also known to counter venom in Arab and Indian medicine, as well as Native American medicine (Hance, 1873).

The species is used medicinally in its native South America (Vascular Plants of Antioquia, 2015). However, there is increasing evidence of the renal toxicity of various Aristolochia species, which contain aristolochic acid and have been associated with aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN), a renal interstitial fibrosis and upper urinary tract cancer (UUC) that is likely to be particularly underestimated among populations that rely heavily on traditional medicines (Debelle et al., 2008; Krell and Stebbing, 2013; Michl et al., 2013).