The creeper with the bizarre "flowers" that festoons the fence of 20 Avery Ave is Aristolochia gigantea, commonly known as the Brazilian Dutchman's Pipe or the Giant Pelican Flower and is a native of Brazil. The flowers give the pipevines (Aristolochia - pronounced "a ris' to low' kee a") their common name for some species resemble the ornate smoking pipes popular in the Netherlands in the 1700s. The tubular flowers tend to be dark coloured—brown, maroon, or mottled with white.
The floral tube is tightly curved then flares outward dramatically.
The curved tube acts like a funnel. An insect that lands on the flower searching for nectar is lured into the tube. Once in the tube, the insect must continue crawling inward. There is no room for the insect to turn around and leave the flower until it has brushed against the pistil and stamens. This benign trapping of an insect helps to ensure pollination and the next generation of seeds.
Pipevines are classified as incomplete flowers for they lack petals. The sepals, which are green in most other flowering plants, are fused to form the oddly coloured floral tube.There are about 200 species of pipevines found around the world.
The floral tube is tightly curved then flares outward dramatically.
The curved tube acts like a funnel. An insect that lands on the flower searching for nectar is lured into the tube. Once in the tube, the insect must continue crawling inward. There is no room for the insect to turn around and leave the flower until it has brushed against the pistil and stamens. This benign trapping of an insect helps to ensure pollination and the next generation of seeds.
Pipevines are classified as incomplete flowers for they lack petals. The sepals, which are green in most other flowering plants, are fused to form the oddly coloured floral tube.There are about 200 species of pipevines found around the world.
