English: Calico flower; Elegant Dutchman's pipe.
Synonym: Aristolochia elegans.
Name: Latin name littoralis means coastal.
Region: southern and western South America, Brazil,Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru; invasive in Australia, southern United States.
Habitat: prefers acid-neutral soils, average moisture, in part sun to shade; elevation to 1150 metres; subtropical; minimum temperature of 7 °C.
Content: aristolochic acid.
BotanyShrub; climbing vine; 3 to 4.5 metres in length.
Stems: slender; woody.
Leaves: bright green; cordate, amplexicaul; 7 to 9 cm long, 5 to 10 cm wide; dense attractive foliage.
Flowers: heart-shaped; greenish yellow with intricate purplish-brown markings; 7 to 8 cm long; solitary; axillary; like a Sherlock Holmes's pipe; inner surface of the flared mouth is completely purplish-brown; flowering all summer. Pollination: by flies, attracted by the carrion-like odor.
Fruit: dry; dehiscent capsules; split like small parachutes.
Seeds: mumerous winged.
Dispersion: by wind.