California pipevine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids California pipevine |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Aristolochia
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| Species: |
californica
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The California pipevine (scientific name: Aristolochia californica) is a special plant. It's a woody vine that grows year after year in western North America. People also call it the California Dutchman's-pipe or California snakeroot.
Contents
Where the California Pipevine Lives
The California pipevine grows only in California, mostly in the northern parts. This means it's endemic to California – you won't find it naturally anywhere else!
It lives in places like the Sacramento Valley, the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, and around the San Francisco Bay Area.
You can spot it near streams, in areas with chaparral (a type of shrubland), and in oak or mixed evergreen forests. It usually grows in areas lower than about 2,300 feet (700 meters) above sea level.
What the California Pipevine Looks Like
The California pipevine is a deciduous vine. This means its leaves fall off each year, usually in the fall. It grows from underground stems called rhizomes.
This vine can grow to be about 5 feet (1.5 meters) long, but some can reach over 20 feet (6 meters)! Its twisting stem can get quite thick as the plant gets older.
New green leaves, shaped like hearts, grow after the plant blooms. The flowers appear from January through April.
The plant makes large, curving flowers that look like old-fashioned smoking pipes. They are green to light brown, with purple lines and a yellow or red inside. These U-shaped flowers later turn into green, winged fruits.
How Pipevine Flowers Get Pollinated
The California pipevine's flowers have a slightly musty smell. This smell attracts tiny insects that usually feed on dead things.
These insects crawl into the twisted flowers. They might get a bit stuck and confused for a while, picking up pollen as they move around. Most of them eventually find their way out. The plant does not eat insects, even though some people used to think it did.
Scientists think that tiny fungus gnats might be the main insects that help pollinate these flowers. It's thought that the plant "tricks" these insects into helping with pollination.
California Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly
The California pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor hirsuta) needs the California pipevine to survive. The caterpillars of this butterfly eat only the leaves of this plant.
These caterpillars are black with red spots. After eating the leaves, they use the pipevine flowers as a safe, closed place to change into butterflies.
The pipevine plant has a special chemical inside it. When the caterpillars eat the leaves, they also take in this chemical. This makes them taste bad to animals that might want to eat them, like birds. It's a clever way for the caterpillars to protect themselves!
Images for kids
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This image shows an example of an aristolochic acid. This acid is a natural chemical found in the plant.
See also
In Spanish: Aristolochia californica para niños
