FLOWER OF THE WEEK AT SOPCHOPPY DEPOT PARK

Woolly pipevine

By LYNN ARTZ, SANDY TEDDER and DAVID RODDENBERRY

Woolly pipevine (Aristolochia tomentosa), or Woolly Dutchman’s pipe, is one of many vines in this family with flowers resembling pipes once smoked in the Netherlands. The intriguing S-shaped, yellowish-green flowers have a strong scent that attracts pollinating flies. This deciduous, woody climbing vine feeds the caterpillars of pipevine swallowtail butterflies. The large heart-shaped leaves, young stems, and flowers are hairy. This fast-growing, twining vine prefers moist, well-drained soil in full to part sun. Sought for butterfly gardens, this vine also can provide dense cover for a sun porch. In the wild, woolly pipevine grows along stream banks and in bottomlands in panhandle counties west of Wakulla. Now endangered, obtain only from reputable native nurseries. Planted last fall, two woolly pipevines in flower are climbing pine trees in Sopchoppy Depot Park.