Region: east Asia, southern China, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan.
Habitat: thickets, mountain slopes, moist shady valleys; elevations from 500 to 1500 metres; tolerates light frosts; prefer a well-drained loamy soil, rich in organic matter, in sun or semi-shade.
Content: aristolochic acid.
Use: medicinal.
BotanyShrub; perennial; deciduous; climbing.
Stem: growing from a tuberous rootstock; scramble over the ground, twining into the surrounding vegetation for support.
Flowers: malodorous flowers, smelling like decaying flesh; purple-brown.
Pollination: by small flies, attracted by the foetid odours.