Aristolochia macrophylla
Origin: Eastern North America (via Ukraine)
Improvement status: Cultivated
Seeds per packet: ~50
BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED
Life cycle: Perennial
The first time you see a fence or trellis or tree covered with the vines of dutchman's pipe, you might think you're looking at some exotic invasive species — it does sort of evoke kudzu, "the vine that ate the South" — but this unusual-looking plant (it really resembles a tropical pitcher plant) is actually an eastern North American native! Likely to have originated in the Appalachia region — it's most widely spread in the Cumberland and Blue Ridge Mountains of western Virginia and North Carolina, eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and most of West Virginia — it can also be found growing wild in adjacent areas of north Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, with sporadic populations in Michigan, New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine. It tends to inhabit deep ravines, gaps, and steep wooded slopes, so it's not surprising that even people who live near its native habitat are unaware of its presence.
Pipevine, as it's also called, can be a wonderful garden plant, particularly if you're looking to cover a fence, trellis, telephone pole, or other large object with interesting greenery. It's a bit less likely to take over a landscape than similarly architectural perennial vines like Chinese wisteria or even our native orange trumpet vine, but it can also send up suckers (particularly if planted in too shady a spot). Once established, it's thick foliage creates lots of protected habitat for birds' nests, small mammals, and plenty of tiny native invertebrates. A wall of dutchman's pipe can become a veritable hive of animal activity.
While this plant has a long history of medicinal use, extreme caution is warranted due to the presence of Aristolochic Acid (named for this genus, but also found in other plants like native wild ginger). This powerful chemical compound is carcinogenic, mutagenic, and nephrotoxic. It basically can destroy kidneys and livers. Scientists first realized it was dangerous when a cluster of cases of nephritis (kidney inflammation) leading to rapid kidney failure appeared in a group of women in Brussels, Belgium in the mid-1990s. It turned out all of the women were taking the same or similar herbal medicines intended for weight loss given to them by practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Their condition was named "Chinese Herb Nephrology" (or CHN) and subsequent research revealed root powder from Manchurian pipevine (Aristolochia manshuriensis), which had recently be added to the herbal formulation as a replacement for Stephania tetrandra, as the likely culprit in this case. A related plant called Guan Fang Chi (Aristolochia fangchi) also is sometimes used in TCM formulations. Decades before the Belgian cases, in the 1950s, a large cluster of kidney failure cases in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia came to be known as Balkan Endemic Nephrology (BEN), but it wasn't until much later when scientists realized it was likely caused by mass Aristolochic Acid poisoning. One hypothesis was that seeds of the European native Aristolochia clematitis (European Birthwort) may have been regularly contaminating some wheat flower produced in the region. In 2000, the Food and Drug Administration in this country began intercepting and testing herbal medicines believed to contain Aristolochic Acid, but it's definitely still a potential public health danger. So, again, extreme caution is warranted when considering using this plant for any medicinal purpose. But there are plenty of other reasons to grow this beautiful native plant!
Our seeds came to us from the good folks at Sheffield's Seeds in Locke, NY.
GROWING TIPS: The seeds need no special treatment before sprouting, though a 24-hour soak in water may be helpful in increasing germination rates, as could a month or two of cold-moist stratification in the fridge. Naturally found in light sandy soil, medium loamy soil and heavy clay soils, it has a preference for drained soils — though it will not tolerate dry soils. This species is also primarily found in alkaline soils with high pH. Hardy to USDA Zone 5.
NOTE: Close-up photo of flower comes from Maja Dumat and is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
