Aristolochia Archives - Juniper Level Botanic Garden

Pipevines – A weirdo that you and your swallowtails can’t live without.

1 Comment • Articles, Educational Topics, Plant Spotlight • By Patrick McMillan • June 18, 2023

by Patrick McMillan The past couple of weeks the small, freakish flowers of one of the strangest of plants have begun to open in our gardens – pipevines. It’s difficult to believe that nature could summon up anything as strange as the flowers of pipevines. If you remember the “regular” aka actinomorphic and the “irregular”

Pipevines – A weirdo that you and your swallowtails can’t live without. Read More »

Plundering Pipes

The Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars are munching away on any aristolochia (pipevine) in sight. This week, their favorite in the garden is the stunning Aristolochia fimbriata. Nature has created a wonderful balance where the catepillars each just enough to survive and grow, but not enough to damage the plant, which will quickly re-flush.