A strange flowering

Last February I bought a small young vine from my favorite nursery, Annie's Annuals in Richmond, California. About 15 minutes after I planted it, the snails ate it down to ground level. I put out snail bait, they left it alone. The vine pushed its way up through the ground again. The rains came and diluted the snail bait. The snails came and ate the vine down to ground level again. This cycle went on three or four times.

When the rains stopped in mid-April, the snails apparently had better things to do and left the vine alone. So it began to grow again. Every day I'd go out into the garden, breathe on its baby leaves--in hopes the carbon dioxide I was exhaling would stimulate its growth--and would urge it onward and upward. And from time to time, I scratched more compost into the soil around the vine.

It crept upward slowly, twining around a couple of bamboo poles. Finally this week it started blooming and I have to say this vine has one of the strangest-looking flowers I've ever had in my garden. The vine in question is a member of the Aristolochia family, specifically Aristolochia elegans.

This flower is said to be shaped like a Dutchman's pipe. The face of the flower is red and white speckled, which is why, perhaps, the informal name of this plant is "Calico Flower." According to information on Annie's Annuals website,  the color is supposed to resemble rotting meat, and therefore attract carrion-eating insects. (Fortunately, it does not smell like rotting meat, however). This  plant depends on carrion-feeding insects for its pollination.

Incidentally, Aristolochia is indigenous to the state of Florida, where it's considered a noxious invasive pest. Given climate differences between Florida and northern California and the fact that I'm growing this vine in a container, I don't think it will cause any problems here. Here's my first shot of one of my Aristolichia's flowers. I'm glad the snails finally left me enough vine to grow this amazing flower.

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